


An Eternal Nightmare

by XCLayMacionPoint



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Blood, Dark fic, Demonic Possession, Demons, Dom/sub Undertones, Eventual Happy Ending, Explicit Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Ghosts, Gore, Horror, Lemon, Lime, Monsters, Paranormal, Romance, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex, Sexual Tension, Slight fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Suspense, Torture, Violence, succubi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:39:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 26
Words: 60,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8175278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XCLayMacionPoint/pseuds/XCLayMacionPoint
Summary: Mitsuru is awake after seven years in a nightmarish coma, but the monsters didn't disappear. In a world where battles rage between humans, this weakened kunoichi fights demons that few can see and even fewer can touch. There's no room for romance here, but emotions tend to find a way.Itachi X OC, Kakashi X OCNo she does not "save" Itachi.Kakashi is end game!Weird Limes and Lemons (Chp. 9, 10...)





	1. Awake

It's staring at me. I can feel it. Since waking I could feel it looking at me. After seven years of being comatose in the hospital, seven years of enduring its nightmarish world, I had thought I escaped. I had thought that waking up was a sign that it was letting me go, but no.

My body lay motionless upon a hospital bed, attached to monitors, checked on infrequently by the nurses because it wasn't expected that I would wake. I do not know if my father visited me in this state. I can imagine he heard the news, saw me to the hospital, then departed with a narrowing of his brows. I was his disappointment. I was his child that passed out in the woods from overexertion, is that what the doctors told him? No, overexertion doesn’t put you into a coma. They had no explanation for my sudden coma, likely, and he only sneered at them. It did not matter, I was a failure to him.

This nightmare was in my head. They didn’t see the torture, they didn’t hear my screams. In its world, I was just another plaything. A toy for its monsters, a test subject for its experiments. How many times could I be stabbed before going into shock? How many limbs could I have torn off before passing out? How many slams into the wall until my skull became mush in its grip? What number of times could I awaken from my murder only to be met with another hideous creature? The world of endless grey cycled as such. I would die. I would wake up with a cloudless, colorless sky above me. I would face another one.

But this time, I was truly awake. When I opened my eyes I saw a white ceiling and a blinding yellow light. The sounds caused me immense pain, but what was that pain to what I had been made to feel by it? The beeps of the machines rammed against my eardrums, the lights forced my pupils to dilate quicker than was comfortable, and the feel of my unused muscles moving sent dull aches over every inch of my skin.

And I could feel it staring at me.

Somewhere beyond my damaged senses, beyond the blur, it was watching me.

In those seven years trapped inside my mind, I had only seen it once. It showed itself to me the moment before my eyes opened. And it smiled. I knew, when I saw it, that all the monsters I had faced were nothing compared to it. They were its pets, sent to break me and tear me apart so many times that finally my mind would give and it would be able to take my body as its own. In that split second seeing its face I thought. No. You will not have me.

When my senses adjusted I was expecting to see it standing at the foot of my bed, but it wasn't. A medic ninja entered, hearing the frantic beeping from the monitors.

"She's awake!" they called, the sound sending another shock of pain through my eardrums.

What sounded like a stampede, but what was really the footsteps of only a few nin, came from somewhere down the hall, adding to the pain that wracked my skull.

"Mitsui-san? Mitsui-san, are you awake? Can you hear me?" the voice was close, standing by the bed.

I focused what little energy I had on moving my lips.

"She can hear me, but she can't speak. Someone call for…" the voices went on and on about finding a medic nin that specialized in sensitive internal repairs.

I gave up on trying to speak. It wasn't long before I was alone with only one other person. She was a young woman with short blonde hair and pale brown eyes. She fiddled with the machines near my head. I noticed a weak scent, a combination of flowers and baby powder, coming from her. She has a child? I blinked away some spots in my vision, watching her as her thin hands delicately unhooked one of the machines.

"My name is Nakashima Ryuu. It's nice to meet you, Mitsui-san."

There was no point in trying to respond, I could already feel the muscles in my face straining.

Then a person I could barely remember came in. Her hair was styled in two low ponytails. Her smile took up the majority of her expression. Her eyes were large. Their color was bright green. She looked ready to lunge at me, but the nurse stopped her.

"She woke up a few moments ago. Please be careful. Oda-san."

"That's right, I'm sorry."

The girl approached the bed while wiping her pale cheeks, but there were no tears. She waited a moment beside me with her large smile still plastered across her face. Was she waiting for something?

"I came here every day hoping you would one day open your eyes," she laughed slightly, "I was so surprised when the nurse at the front desk told me you had."

How quaint. I vaguely remembered beginning at the academy with her, before falling into my coma. We had spoken a few times, I think. But my memory just before falling asleep was unclear. All of the pain I endured left my childhood memories jumbled and incoherent. Her fingers ran through her hair in a nervous gesture. She seemed unsure of what to do with herself.

"How are you feeling?" she asked finally, after a few excruciatingly awkward moments of her staring at me.

My weak vocal chords couldn't fashion an answer and then Nakashima had to explain that I would not be able to speak for awhile, at least not until the muscles in my throat became stronger.

While they were talking I noticed a leaf headband secured to Oda's waist. So she became a genin. It's no surprise, I've been asleep for so long. The strain from holding my eyelids open quickly became too much and they fell shut. And there it was, blocking the light above my head. I could make out its outline through my eyelids. I wanted to scream and tell the person who called me her friend to run. I wanted to plead with the nurse to lock the door as they left, but no matter how much I moved my lips I could only manage a few strained sounds.

"It's alright Mitsui-san." Nakashima's voice was gentle and calm. "I'll bring a medic nin in and she'll be able to heal your vocal chords a bit."

But you need to leave _now_.

One of the monitors finally caught on and released a series of frenzied beeps from its tiny speakers. Nakashima placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Mitsui-san?"

I mustered the strength to open my eyes again already imagining its face before I would see it. But once my vision cleared all that I saw was that horrendous yellow light. My eyes scanned the room for any sign of it, but there was none to be found.

"Mi-chan?" Oda spoke a name I had not heard since I was a child.

A wave of emotion wrought my senses. It's been so long since I hear someone refer to me with such concern. It's been so long since I felt such a gentle touch on my person. Nakashima's hand was still placed upon my shoulder. The tears were painful, but somehow also felt wonderful. The drops trickled down my face, leaving warm trails along my skin.

"Mi-chan!" Oda quickly walked over and wrapped her arms around my head, pushing Nakashima away.

A strangled cry that did not sound like my own voice left my parted lips. My heart slammed so forcefully upon my ribcage. I feared it would burst through my chest.

Could it be my imagination being cruel to me? Did I create the shadow because I had become so accustomed to seeing it everywhere I went in that nightmare? A shadow always within sight but never reachable, watching its playthings, peeking out from the edges of doorframes and the corners of wooden houses to reveal it’s bloodshot and black eye.

"Oda-san please, Mitsui-san needs more rest."

Another stampede of footsteps came from down the hall.

"The medic nin are here. Oda-san please step back."

I could feel the reluctance of her release. I watched her crying face as she was obscured by a flurry of white coats. As the people that surrounded me made hand signs I remembered her name.

Oda Hanako.

**X**

Transparent, blue waves were emitted from their hands. Chakra. I remember it. I remember how it feels to channel the energy through your muscles, the sensation unique. In that world I was unable to use my chakra. I couldn't even feel it, but now beneath my skin I felt the energy coursing through my limbs to encourage muscle regeneration. They were utilizing the unused reservoir of power within me to heal myself.

"Only a few more minutes and you'll be able to move again Mitsui-san." A male voice had spoken.

The register was new; I hadn't heard a male voice is so long. Occasionally the medic nin would switch out. They mumbled something about it being strangely difficult. I assume it took quite a bit of chakra to create a connection with my own. It was a jutsu I was unfamiliar it. Granted, I hadn't gotten to learn much before falling into my coma.

“Maybe you’re just doing it wrong.” one of the medic nin joked.

Another elbowed him.

“Just focus.”

“It is a bit tough though. Don’t you think?”

There was a silence from the rest of them. Time passed slowly, but I was quickly intrigued by the sensation of my muscles twitching. All at once they lifted their hands away, the transparent, blue waves were drawn back into their bodies and they released a collective sigh of exhaustion.

"How are you feeling Mitsui-san?"

My lips parted, I felt the air rush into my vocal chords and I attempted to make a sound. I wanted to explain that my limbs felt as though they were going to separate from my body, but instead, in a weak voice, I said:

"Peachy."

A chuckle came from a few of the white cloaked ninja around me, but the one who had asked the question remained skeptical.

"Are you all done here? There are guests waiting outside," another nameless person popped their head in the door.

"Yes, we finished."

They walked out, each stretching and smiling, content by a successful afternoon. Or at least I thought it was an afternoon. I could see a bit better. The light coming in through the window was tinted auburn and casted unnerving shadows across the walls.

Just as the last was leaving the one who had made a joke said:

“It felt like it was pulling away, right? Like… something was keeping it from fully connecting, right?”

He earned a few irritated grunts from his colleagues.

Of course nothing would be perfect. There is something strange going on with me. My nightmare isn't over, I know it isn't, but when will it show up?

Amidst my thoughts, I began flexing my fingers. The tensing of my muscles caused fires of pleasurable pain up my hands. I let out a soft moan just as someone entered the room.

"Mitsui."

He looks familiar, was my first thought. The grey hair, the one visible eye, the sharpness of his chin, all contained an air of nostalgia. But who the hell was he? He stood by the bed looking down at me, his gaze half-lidded.

"You're finally awake."

His voice was irritatingly familiar; it was much deeper than what my brain claimed to remember. The boyish tones remained somewhere beneath the low notes. He seemed to be unsure of what to say next, so instead shuffled back and forth, his gaze drifting around the room.

I didn't want to say anything unnecessary. I had questions for him, this person who I was supposed to remember, but not having my voice for so long, it felt as though any expel of sound would use up what little I had been able to retrieve.

Another nurse nin came into the room carrying a small tray of food. The new scent immediately set my mouth to water.

"Mitsui-san, I've brought your dinner. It's all soft food, so you won't have to strain your throat. Ah, Kakashi-san will you please help me raise her up?"

"Sure."

Oh that name… Kakashi? I remember it. It's the name of someone I met while I was in school or was it someone I met outside of school. I was unsure. Kakashi…

I stared at him hard as he pressed the back of his hand into the mattress to dip underneath my back. His other reached beneath my legs, scooping me up gingerly into a sitting position. His scent was pungent mix of soap and cologne. Had he bathed just before coming here? His face was close to mine as he carefully stretched my legs back out. The touches were so gentle, but my body still felt intense, aching pains running all over.

As he brought his hands away I tensed, afraid I would not be able to hold myself up in this position, but I found that I could.

The nurse nin attached a flat surface to a latch on the side of the bed and turned it over so it now covered my lap. She set the tray of food in front of me with a smile.

"Eat up, you must be starving!" she exclaimed with joy.

The scent of the food was stronger now, but I found myself still drawn elsewhere. My gaze rose slowly to the man still standing by the bed, watching me.

"Perhaps, you can't raise your arms yet?" suddenly the woman said.

I hadn't tried. I focused entirely on my right arm and began lifting it, but after only rising a few inches it dropped back onto the bed.

"I see!"

A mischievous smile came to the woman's face. She misread the tension in the room and said:

"Kakashi-san, I have to bring around the other patient's meals, would you mind helping Mitsui-san?"

"Huh? Help? You mean?"

"Thank you!" she was already out the door.

I took in a breath slowly, now fully aware of the awkward situation the foolish nurse nin had put us in. He let out a sigh and sat on a stool. He was reaching towards the tray and I finally willed myself to speak:

"You…"

His hand paused.

"…don't have to."

It retreated to his side and he watched as I made another attempt to raise my arm and reach for the spoon. Just as I was getting close my hand dropped. I cursed, the single word louder than anything I had spoken just yet.

He let out a chuckle.

"As stubborn as always."

A flush came upon my face and I glared at the man who had an idea of who I was, yet I could not recall what he had been in my life.

He lifted a plastic spoon from the tray and dipped it into the small mountain of white mush.

"Here."

I wanted to slap his hand away in retaliation to his earlier comment, but now that the scent of food was so near to me, I couldn't resist leaning forward and taking the spoon between my lips. He lifted it up and pulled back in the same way one would feed an infant. The plain taste of rice porridge on my tongue was ecstasy. I swallowed slowly, shutting my eyes and hunching my shoulders slightly. Suddenly, there were tears rolling down my face again.

"Mitsui?" his tone was laced with concern.

I opened them to look at his face. That's right. Kakashi. The young adult who I would rush to on the training grounds and he’d pause in his drills to watch me attempt to concentrate chakra in the palm of my hand. I was born with the lightning affinity, I had convinced myself I could imitate his chidori, but I barely ever achieved a spark. He'd make fun of me for wanting to trying, he’d even joke that it was impossible for me to do anyway. I’d glare, saying I would do it. He’d retort with, but it is impossible without… by then I would have run off in frustration. I had to keep training. I had to do it someday. I had to make my father proud. I had to show my mother I was...

Oh… my mother is dead. The realization came over me again just as it had when I was a child.

"Mitsui." He spoke softly.

His hand cupped my face, wiping away a tear with his thumb.

"Kakashi-san." I finally said his name.

He seemed startled by it for a moment, but he continued to stroke his thumb along my cheek, though the tears had stopped.

"I'm glad you're awake."


	2. Healing

I had been leaping from tree to tree with ease. This was the first thing my father taught me. Focus your chakra on your feet, expel a precise amount, not too much, not too little, with each landing.  If you miscalculate you’ll fall, he had said. My tiny legs learned it quickly. I could never disappoint my father. I had to become what he wanted, there were no options. Shinobi. Nothing else. Or in my case kunoichi.

After he taught me leaping he taught me sensing. Lighting is in everything, he said. Things cannot move, cannot exist, cannot function without lightning. It’s called electricity. Not the instant lighting you know, it’s the constant, ever-flowing, energy within us. Electricity is chakra, he had said. It can give and take life.

Press your fingers to any living thing and connect your chakra to it. Naturally your body will make a connection, this is your sensing ability. When your feet touch the ground, you’ll get an image in your head. An image of your surroundings, the image will be made of long blue lines. Learn this quickly, it could save your life.

I was pausing on a tree branch. I immediately attempted to sense my surroundings, I closed my eyes and waited for the image to come. There’s a person 10 meters ahead and something else, something much bigger. That’s strange, it doesn’t look human, is it an animal? It isn’t moving. I leapt through a few more trees then dropped to the ground. We were deep in the forest inside the walls of Konoha, there is no danger here.

I peeked out from behind a tree and saw a boy, my age, he looked familiar. His hair was short and dark. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with a high collar and no sleeves. There was a red and white paper fan on the back. He turned and looked directly at me.

“Itachi-kun.” The words were familiar as they left my lips.

I walked out towards him.

“Mitsuru.”

As I approached I could make out the shivering form of a doe. I lightly jogged to his side and looked down at the small animal.

“What happened?”

“It seems to have an injury.”

I scanned the creature.

“There’s no blood.”

He pointed to the short cliff of jagged rocks that were just ahead of us.

“It may have fallen from there and injured itself. It’s likely internal.”

The doe’s leg twitch violently. I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Itachi with a kunai in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

“It won’t be able to walk. We should-”

“No!” I yelled it.

I walked to the doe slowly, it’s leg had stopped twitching, it’s head was raised and it was looking at me with one large eye. It’s pupil’s dilated, trying to understand my motives so I stopped.

“I want to help.” I said very softly. “Please, let me help.”

Electricity can give life; my father had told me. Create connections, destroy them, recreate. I can do just that. I could feel Itachi watching me. The doe lowered its head and shivered, obviously in pain. I knelt near it’s back, it was watching me still, weary, but accepting. It could not move away if it wanted to, why fight?

I pressed a hand to its spine and shut my eyes once again.

Make a connection, with everything around you that lives, you have the power to do just that.

It must have hurt, because it let out a high-pitched shriek, but it suddenly sprung to its feet and was leaping away. We were both watching it as it disappeared into the trees. I let out a sigh of contentment.

You did well, father would say. I used my power to help something, even if it caused them some pain.

I turned to the boy who was looking at me and said:

“Don’t be so quick to kill!”

He seemed startled by the statement, but my five-year-old mind didn’t register it then. Our eyes met and I saw everything behind him begin to recede into darkness.  
It was coming. Run. Itachi-kun! Run!

X

I gasped loudly, my entire body raising up as I sucked in a painful breath of air. My eyes adjusted easily to the dim light overhead. My pulse remained frantic beneath my skin, I continued to gasp for air. Each breath was harsh, like fire tearing through my lungs. My organs weren’t ready for strain. I had only awoken a week ago.

My hand slowly lifted and I brushed away the cold sweat that had accumulated upon my forehead. It hurt to move, but I needed to move. This sensation, the fear that it would attack someone, was what I hated most. I could care less if it hurt me, but I would never allow it to hurt others. It knew this, that’s why it tried to invade my dream.

If it wants to invade my dreams, then I simply won’t sleep, is what I would tell myself, but that was foolish. I need to rest to regain my strength. To regain my strength is to prove that it is not going to win against me. I wiped my hand against my forehead again and let my eyelids close. I need to rest.

X

Kakashi-san smells like sweat today, blood and sweat. He had leaned down to speak to me as he rolled my wheelchair through the courtyard.

“How is your physical therapy going?” he asked.

“Slowly.” I responded.

He raised his head, the scent fading with his increased distance. He must have just come from a mission.

“It’s been over a week now. Do you have any questions? I will try my best to answer then.”

I had millions but there was one especially on my mind.

“My father…”

I could feel him tightening his grip on the handles of the wheelchair. He did die.

“When did he die?”

“I was expecting you to ask if he was alive.”

I didn’t respond, what could I say to that? The wheels of my chair slowly came to a halt. The grass to my left looked soft and inviting. I wondered when I would be able to stretch out on it, then stand with ease, then throw myself down again. It would be months maybe years from now, at the rate I was going.

“He was assassinated.”

My weak fingers gripped the edge of my white gown.

“I’m sorry.”

I wanted to say, your words are empty, they won’t bring my father back, that’s simply something you say to console someone who is grieving, but I’m not grieving, he was dead to me long before that.

“By?”

I could feel Kakashi looking at the back of my head, trying to make sense of what I said. Did he have an idea of what was in my head? Is that why you are staring at me like this?

“Suna nin.” He said and started to roll my wheelchair again. “They blamed him for your mother’s defection.”

Ah yes, when I was young I did not fully understand what had happened between my parents. I was naïve and they tried to keep me that way. My mother, the third Kazekage’s daughter left Suna to marry my father in Konoha during the previous shinobi war.

I didn’t want to think about this much, I had another question. I opened my mouth to ask it but Kakashi spoke before I could.

“Things are very different from when you were a child.”

“How so?”

I could feel a twinge of regret in his demeanor, he was clenching the grips on my wheelchair so tightly.

“You’ll see as you recover.”

Dodge it, dodge the question. Death, destruction, restructure, whatever it is, it’s nothing. I’ve seen everything there is. Have you ever had the digits in your finger slowly ripped apart? Have you ever watched your own dissection? Do you know what it’s like to have fifty scalpels carving into your skin at the same time, but only with the very tip, almost like a tease, easily slicing the very top layers of your skin leaving a painful itch that you wouldn’t dare to scratch?

It had seven years to torture me, don’t think it didn’t think of everything it could to try to dissolve my sanity.

He was leading me back into the hospital. So we’re done then? You do not wish to answer my questions after all?

“Kakashi-sensei!”

The voice was loud. It came from down the hall and was barreling straight towards us.

“This is where you’ve been hiding!”

A spiky yellow haired boy rushed up in front of us. He ignored me and stared up at the man behind me.

“Kakashi-sensei, I need to train! The chunin exams are coming! You can’t only train Sasuke!”

The boy now was looking at me.

“You’re over here flirting…” he paused. “Hey, isn’t she too young for you?”

I remained stoic, though I wanted to laugh. Laughter, right, that’s something that people do.

“Everyone misreads the situation,” Kakashi said with a sigh.

The boy had his eyes narrowed at the grey-haired man, his hands were placed on his hips, he was leaning forward.

“Has he been perving on you ne-chan?” the boy was addressing me now.

“Naruto.” Kakashi sounded exasperated.

I didn’t respond, I continued to stare at him. Was I supposed to say no? Kakashi hadn’t made any moves on me, so I suppose the answer is no. And, right, I’m 18. The last time I was conscious being attracted to or having some attracted to me wasn’t even a concept. It hadn’t occurred to me that Kakashi might be here with me, every few days, to gain something from me. Then wouldn’t he have made a move already? He hasn’t, is it still a no? I don’t know how these things work.

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, is something wrong with her? Can she not talk?” the young boy had leaned sideways and had put a hand to the side of his face as though it made him any less audible.

Perhaps it was seven years of torture or I was always meant to be like this, but I had no patience for children. Granted the last time I was awake I was, a child. I had very little patience then as well.

“Naruto, I’ll train you later, I have to take Mitsui back to her room.”

“Get one of the nurses to do it!”

I was jostled slightly as he began to push again.

“Later.” He said more forcefully as he wheeled me past the frustrated boy.

“You just want to keep flirting.” He said under his breath, “Ne-chan! Don’t let that old pervert make any moves on you!” he called when we were some distance away.

Kakashi released another loud said, his head bending. His grip on my wheelchair was weaker. A sound I hadn’t heard left my lips and my shoulder shook. As he brought me into my room he moved to my side to look at my face.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded, the sounds were still coming out of me.

“Ignore him, he’s just a brat.”

I’m laughing, aren’t I?  
“It’s fine.” My frail hand rose in front of my mouth.

I reflexively tried to muffle the sound coming from me, but it was no use. The small short expels of air erupted from me without my control. When they had finally calmed down I was in my bed. He had picked me up bridal style and set me on the bed in a sitting position. He straightened my legs and I felt myself smiling. I bit my lip to try to stop it, but my muscles forced my face back into that position.

His mouth was covered by a mask, but from his one eye I could tell he was smiling.

“It’s a relief to hear you laughing.”

I face felt strained and the muscles slowly fell back into a calmer expression, something less exhausting. I remember our relationship vaguely. The adolescent always bothering the teenager, knowing he was talented with the lightening element, I wanted to learn from him, observe him, challenge him. Anything to impress my father.

**A Month Later**

Why had no one taken the home? It was a decent size. Instead it was empty, left barren after the final occupant died. I had gained enough strength that the doctors said I could visit my home, though I would have to return the following day for a checkup and if they deemed it, I could begin living on my own again. I pressed my hand to the front door. It was cold. My fingers trailed down against the thin wood until it found the handle. I slid it open slowly and was met with a burst of dust.

My shut up and I coughed gently, leaning forward a bit to catch my breath. I regained myself and looked over the dark space. It took a few moments for me to step inside. I was immediately drawn to my left, into the kitchen where a single wooden table was placed.

It might be better if I don’t stay here at all, my lungs are still weak, breathing in dust while I slept may prevent me from healing quickly. I still let myself kneel by the table, letting my gaze scan the unused room. I remember the last time I saw this my father was smiling at me, telling me he was excited to see my progress with gathering electricity. I had to become strong like Kakashi, I had to surpass him, I had the potential, he had said.

I ran the tip of my finger along the edge of the dusty table wondering when was the last time my father set foot in this home. How soon had he died after I went into my coma? I pondered the dust between my finger, rubbing them together as though I could divulge the answer from it.

And I could feel it’s eyes on me. Already, I’ve been home for five minutes and already it wants to play. I looked to the doorway expecting to see it standing there, but it wasn’t. Beyond the empty doorway was the main room of the home. It was dark. Is it hiding in there? Does it want me to go seek it out? I let out a sigh and looked forward again.

Across from me sat myself, but how could that be? I didn’t make a clone. I quickly scanned its features. It looked exactly like me, but there was something different about its eyes. It rested it hands on the edge of the table as though it knew that movement would make it real to me. I drew my gaze away from its and stared at the atrociously long fingers, like pale claws. I slowly looked back into it’s pure black irises and its lips curled into a large, sharp-toothed smile.


	3. What it Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm too lazy to proofread.

I awoke in a pool of blood. That was not entirely odd. I had awoken in a pool of blood many times during my nightmare. This time though, I was still in my home.

Now that it was closer I could see the white’s surroundings the black irises of its eyes. They were a murky grey filled with wriggling bloodshot lines. Its hair was thinner, stringier than mine, longer as well.

Now that it was not hidden by a table it had its feet and hands on either side of my stretched-out body. Its legs were human limbs horribly misshapen to resemble spider legs, with a thin, tautness that caused a horrible churning sensation in my stomach.

“Care for it.”

Its voice had the unnerving shrill of an older woman’s voice layered over a lower registered male voice. Both tones came out simultaneously as it spoke. It leaned down enough that the edges of its thin hair brushed against my cheeks. A shiver almost ran down my spine, but I refused to avert my gaze. I would etch the image of this monster into my mind. A horrid, guttural groan came from its slightly parted pale lips. It was strange to see a warped version of my face making such a noise. The mouth widened, its long sharp teeth became visible. It tilted its head slowly like a creature seizing its prey.

“I’ll come for it soon.”

Then it’s grin returned, disturbingly large. In the next moment, its jaw unhinged, its mouth opening wider than humanly possible and it descended upon me.

**X**

My eyes snapped open and I was knelt beside the table in my kitchen again. The room was empty and I was alone. A high-pitched whine filled my eardrums and my hands cupped both of my ears. I leaned forward and groaned. My vision blurred. A tensing in my chest and I heaved onto the table in front of me. When I opened my eyes the wood was coated in a deep red color, not thin and running, but thick and gloopy. I coughed and a few more bits landed on my thighs.

Hospital. I need to go back to the hospital.

I shakily stood, bracing against the table and padded to my shoes in the foyer. And then I was falling. I landed hard against my cheek on the stone floor, another cough retching a red mucous from my throat. The door slid open and light poured over my head, I moved slightly, but found all my muscles heavy.

I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why my body is doing this. Is it trying to take me over?

“Mitsui?”

That’s Kakashi’s voice. Why is he here?

Hands grasped my upper arms and raised me. Another arm wrapped around my midriff and I was finally on my feet. I still could not lift my head.   
“We should take her back to the hospital.”

That voice is familiar. Who is it though?

“Mitsui?” Kakashi gently raised my chin with his free hand.

The man who had raised me by my arms had a beard and spiked hair. He was dressed in gear similar to Kakashi’s.

“Are you alright?” Kakashi asked.

I tried to move my lips but I could not. I blinked slowly.

“Seems like she can’t talk.”

“Back to the hospital then.”

The grey-haired man scooped me up in his arms. My head tilted until it rested against his chest, drooping down in a painful angle. I could not change my position at all. I couldn’t feel my limbs. Am I going back to that world?

No. Please. Not that. I can’t go back there.

They both stepped into the light of the outside and he leapt atop the building in front of him. The air rushed through my short brown hair. It was cool on my scalp, but nothing would soothe me right now.

I was just making progress. I was finally feeling human again and now I’m back to square one.

“It’s only been a month, has it?” The other man called to Kakashi.

“Ah. Just a month.”

I wanted to scream. I felt hot tears running down my face.

“Mitsui.”

Fuck off. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t.

“Giving up already?”

My eyes widened. That phrase.

“That’s not the twerp I remember.”

“Sh.” I managed a syllable.

The frustration bubbled in my throat, the edge of my lip dribbled with the red goop. I forced my muscles to part my lips.

“Sh…shut.”

Within the next few leaps we reached the entrance to the hospital.

“Shut up.” I mustered.

He chuckled gently and carried me into building.

“That sounds like Mitsui.” He spoke very softly.

I felt my heart rate suddenly increase. A warm feeling came across my cheeks. The silkiness of his voice close to my ear was strange. I did not understand this feeling in my body, the only feeling in my body. My limbs were still numb.

I now noticed his scent. It was soapy again, also somewhat herbal and musky.

“Excuse me.” He carried me towards a nurse.

“Yes.”

“My friend needs some attention.”

“Of course, is it urgent?”

I felt his head move as though he were looking down at me to check.

“I believe so. Mitsui Mitsuru. She’s a patient here who was released just his morning.”

The nurse’s footsteps padded away and she shuffled some papers. There was a plastic clicking sound and she spoke into a phone.

“Her room is still open. Please come this way. A doctor will be with her shortly.”

“Hai. Thank you.”

He laid me across the bed gingerly. As soon as my head hit the pillow I felt my tongue sliding backwards until my throat was blocked. I couldn’t feel it, but my chest was now rising and falling. A panic entered my body. I can’t breathe. I can’t fucking breathe. Kakashi must have seen the panic in my eyes because he hit a large red button on the headboard. A nurse came in asking what was wrong.

“I think she’s having trouble breathing.” He said quickly.

The nurse firmly grasped the bottom of my jaw and opened my mouth.

“Her muscles have relaxed in her throat, closing her airway…” The nurse sounded puzzled as she said it.

My vision was blurring again. A doctor came in with another nurse in tow.

“Please step outside sir.” The nurse pushed Kakashi out.

It didn’t take long for them to shove a plastic device down my throat, forcing it open, and to attach an oxygen tank against my face. I took in slow steady breaths, relieved.

In its world, I had been strangled, there was no uncontrollable fear like that of slowly having your breath stolen from you. The only torture that caused panic in my body was that. A large man with a tweed sack over his head had his fingers clasped around my tiny throat, squeezing painfully slow. I clawed at the man, only 12 years old when it decided this was a good torture to try. I could tell by the mix of brown and red tones on his flesh that he wasn’t human, but I had only been trapped in that world for a year. I wasn’t sure if any of it was real then.

My eyelids fluttered. The doctor was standing by the edge of the bed.

“Mitsui-san, if you understand what I’m saying, please blink once for yes and twice for no.”

I closed my eyes then opened them again, using what little strength I had to keep them open long enough he would accept my response.

“Good. Now, do you know why this happened suddenly?” he asked.

I managed to blink twice. He let out a pensive hum and reached for a clipboard the nurse offered him.

“It says you were discharged today, but here you are again…” he flipped the page, “We’ll run some tests and let you know if we find anything. Also, we will keep Nakashima with you for the next few days.”

Without another word, he walked out of the room. The nurse still in the room was tinkering with devices and generally avoiding eye contact until the familiar blonde nurse entered.

“I’ll take over from here.” She said with a smile.

“Thank you.” The new nurse sounded exasperated.

What the hell did I do to you? I felt a pang of anger in my chest. My narrowed eyes made Nakashima smile.

“There’s this rumor going around that you’re being haunted and the rest of nurses have considered calling in someone to cleanse this room before putting another person in here.” She explained without hesitation.

Haunted. That sounds about right.

“I told them they were being silly, but they’re just a nervous bunch.”

Nakashima carefully cleaned around my neck and chest. After some careful shifting, she changed my clothes into the usual medical gown. It was awful being here again, but the encouraging smile she always had on her face eased me.

“Are you and Kakashi-san getting along? He comes here kind of often. I don’t want to assume anything, but… he’s always here.” She sat on the stool beside the bed.

I refused to blink. There was no proper way to answer this stupid question.

She let out a soft laugh.

“I suppose that question already means I’ve assumed a lot. Excuse me.” She laughed again.

After placing the blanket over my body, she sat again.

“It must be reassuring to have his presence. He reminds me of my husband, always there at the right time.” She tucked the blanket beneath me.

I suddenly felt my muscles twitching all over and I groaned.

“Mitsui-san?”

The plastic in my throat became excruciatingly painful. My arms quickly slid up from beneath the thin sheet, grasping at the breathing mask. Nakashima gripped my hands firmly.

“Relax, relax. I’ll take it off you myself. You need to relax.”

I willed myself to a fake calm and she removed all the devices from my body. I was finally able to sit up, but I immediately coughed into my hands. What looked like white mucus appeared all over my palms. She gave me some towels and I wiped it off, still staring at them.

“Whatever is happening, I’m sure the doctor will figure it out.” Nakashima’s voice made me want to vomit.

It was sweet and condescending. I sighed, letting my hands squeeze over every inch of my limbs. My muscles felt just as they had this morning, weak, but usable.

“He’s still outside if you want to see him.”

I raised my eyebrow at her.

“Kakashi-san,” she said for clarification.

“I don’t care.” I hissed.

She released this arrogant, knowing laugh and exited the room. Kakashi entered with the other man from before.

“Already better?” the man laughed.

I didn’t immediately respond.

“You may not remember me, but it’s Asuma.”

I shook my head.

“Well, nice to meet you I guess.”

“Yeah.” My gaze fell on the wall.

My mind became occupied with the idea of being chained to this damn hospital again. If I tried to leave, would I suffer the same experience? Does it want me to stay here? If so, why? Nakashima returned.

“I’m sorry that this visit has to be so short, but we have to get started with some tests. You boys can come visit her again tomorrow.”

The men reluctantly left, both providing me with a departing statement, hoping I would be released again soon.

“That must be so frustrating.” Nakashima commented.

I slowly looked at her, the anger was returning. She made a face as though she had concocted the grandest idea.

“You must be dying for a homecooked meal yes? When you are released again you should come visit, better than going back to that musty old home right?”

I would’ve argued against her statement, if there were no truth to it.

**A Few Months Later**

The chunin exams passed with a huge amount of ruckus. Though I had only received snippets of information from Nakashima and the doctors that would come check on me. The traffic in the office became thick with citizens, the aftermath of the attempted overthrow left all hospital packed with patients. I was excited to be released. They claimed that another month of physical therapy and monitoring would do my body some good, but the opportunity for early release presented itself and I took it.

Just as she promised, Nakashima dragged me to her home where I met her daughter. A tiny creature with large eyes and long hair.

“My husband is on another mission, I wish you could’ve met him. When he comes back you’ll have to return.” She spoke as she served dish after dish of colorful foods.

I responded with a soft sound of acknowledgement. Her pressing was somewhat annoying, but a human connect was rather pleasant, no matter how grating.

“Please help yourself.” She knelt across from me, her bug-eyed daughter already spooning rice into her wide-open mouth.

“Thank you.”

I lifted my chopsticks and rice. Just as I was raising a small clump of rice to my lips I felt a chill. My gaze slowly rose.

It stood behind them both, grinning its horrid grin.

Of course.

This is what it wanted.


	4. Leaving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: The following has graphic descriptions of violence and gore. Please proceed with caution, if you feel you are sensitive to this material.

I could see but I couldn’t control.

It was all wrong.

This isn’t me. This isn’t my fault. I didn’t do this. I’m not doing this.

Sensation left my body.

Its grin was full, I blinked, it was gone. Then I felt something growing, a sharp pain in my gums, it was only a moment before I launched myself across the table that I realized my mouth was full of razor sharp teeth.

When my hand grasped the child’s tiny throat I had felt a horror in my body like no other, but as I watched the large eyes bug out wider, the shock was replaced with a cold distance.

This isn’t me. I’m not doing this.

Nakashima screamed and did all she could to tear me off her child, but my body was unnaturally heavy. She grasped a knife from a drawer and thrust it hard into my back, but my body did not move, no flinch, no reaction. My gaze was focused on the light leaving the small body beneath mine.

I’m not doing this.

Nakashima, becoming desperate, grasped the knife and tried to pull it out of me, but to her absolute terror it would not budge.

This isn’t me. I’m not a monster.

The scream that left the woman’s lips as my mouth opened and I sank my teeth into her child’s face is something I will never forget. Skin tore and bones crunched, muscles like tissue against the force of the bite.

Am I eating her?

Is this me?

It can’t be.

I’m not…

My hands released the crushed flesh of her neck and I raised my head, now looking at the woman who had fallen against the kitchen counter. Her body was trembling, her expression was almost calm, blank, too in shock to comprehend what had happened and what was going to happen.

My body moved towards her in a slow, steady crawl, a creature approaching its wounded prey. The blonde woman’s eyes remained on her daughter laying lifeless only a few feet away. Just a moment ago smiling and eating.

Nakashima made a last attempt to escape heading for the doorway but my hand snapped out. No.

Its not my hand. This is not me. I’m not doing this.

The limbs were longer, arms and fingers, how else could I have grasped her so easily. I latched onto her calf and ripped a large chunk of flesh from it. Another scream filled the home, this time of pan instead of distress. My body quickly crawled over hers and I lingered above her, staring into the terrified eyes. Her thin lips parted, weakly asking why I was doing this.

But I’m not doing this.

This isn’t me.

I expected my body to devour her immediately, but instead my thumb was over one of her eyes. The horrid squelching sound was coupled with her screams. Once it was destroyed and torn from her face my fingers plunged into the new fleshy hole. My fingertips dug through the eye-socket to scrape the inside of her skull, searching but not finding what I seemed to be looking for. A bit of blood and saliva dripped from my chin onto the cheek of the still breathing woman beneath me. The shock quickly took her and her remaining eye rolled back. My jaw snapped open and I tore into her exposed neck. The warm soulless body moved only slightly with every bite I took of it.

No. I’m not doing this. This isn’t me. It can’t be me. I would never…

There were footsteps now, rushing through the front door And suddenly I could feel. My mouth was full, soft, mushy, crunchy, disgusting.

I heaved reflexively all of what I had almost consumed spilling out of me onto the body it had come from. I was trembling, the pain in my back flared up and spread out. Blood was pooling in my shirt and down my body. My eyes filled with tears and a sob left my throat. I couldn’t describe the feelings, the tastes, the smells that barraged my senses. I sobbed louder, spitting and wiping at my mouth with shaking hand.

No, this is not me. This isn’t happening. I’m back in its world. I’m having a nightmare. This is just a nightmare.

A scream came from down the hall and I looked up. Neighbors had come, they can see me.

I did this.

This was me.

Panic filled me. I stood on trembling limbs and a man stepped forward from the small crowd.

“Don’t you fucking move, you insane bitch!”

A woman had run out of the house, still screaming, another person following her.

I did this.

I killed them.

The pain in my back was numbing now, and adrenaline hit me. My feet shifted.

“I said don’t fucking move.”

The man formed symbols with his hands and I knew some jutsu was coming. My fingers twitched and lighting struck. It fired out of me in all directions. The curtains, the tatami, the exposed wood all were lit with flames. The man stumbled back and I darted towards the open window. The knife handle struck the edge of the window frame and I screeched. It carved a wider wound in me and I fell hard against the small patch of grass in what was the backyard.

Run. Get up. Run.

Why was I fleeing? Don’t I deserve to die?

Run. Now. Run.

My hand went back, grasping the handle weakly and I fished the weapon from inside me, groaning as I did so.

Run.

I was up again, moving, running, limping to get away. Somewhere, anywhere.

They’re going to catch me.

They’re going to kill me.

I’m a monster.

**X**

I hadn’t gotten far, my body slowed. I was losing blood, I was dying. I fell. I expected to hit dirt or pavement but suddenly everything was dark and my fall continued, much longer than it should have. I couldn’t help but think, perhaps I’ve died and I’m becoming nothing. Though I was ready to accept the numbness my lungs filled with cool night air and I landed on soft, dewy grass. I groaned again, I was barely able to lift my head. Through the darkness, I made out the figures of tall trees and stout bushes surrounding me. I was just down the street from that home, how am I now in the middle of the forest? I couldn’t think on it for very long. The numbness traveled to my eyelids and they shut. Consciousness finally left me. Maybe, just maybe, I won’t have to wake up this time.

**Early the Next Morning**

Kakashi stared at the report in some visible shock.  
“This all happened last night?”

“Ah,” the anbu in front of him agreed but spoke no further.

“And no one was able to track her?”

“No. The first shinobi on the scene tried to follow her path, but it suddenly stopped. There was no sign of her less than a mile from the scene.”

“She was injured and just discharged from the hospital. It would be impossible for her to get far.”

“We thought so as well, unless she used a jutsu that allows her to transport…”

“Then there would have been residual chakra left behind.”

“Indeed.”

“We’re thinking she may have had some assistance.”

Kakashi let his hand fall, still holding the report.

“Do you have anything to support that claim?”

“No, but it’s a hunch we had during the investigation.”

“I see, update me if you find anything on her.”

“Understood.”

**Elsewhere**

Mitsuru felt her eyes open and her vision clear. Light was streaming over her body, exhausted but fully capable of moving her limbs. _What the hell is happening?_ She propped herself on her elbows and realized the sharp pain in her back was no longer there. When she sat up she reached back, searching for the wound but finding only a tear in her blouse and smooth, unharmed skin. _What the hell?_ She stood and looked around, unsure of where she was. _How did I get here? I remember falling… but… where…_ The memories from the previous evening came rushing back and she fell to her knees again. Acid churned in her stomach, and bubbled up her throat. A pool of yellow spilled onto the dirt. Her stomach was empty. Mitsuru wiped the burning from her lips and stumbled to her feet. She broke into a run.

**X**

The fog was thinning as the sun rose and its rays began to warm the cooled earth. Somewhere beyond the Konoha walls along a wide dirt path were two men walking side by side. Their sandals quietly slapped against the wet ground, a breeze causing their cloaks to whip around them. Soft jingles came from the tiny bells hanging off their straw hats. The pair was headed away from the village, their mission incomplete.

“You know, they say these woods are haunted.”

The shorter man did not respond, but the taller knew he was listening.

“It would be spooky if a ghost came rushing out, wouldn’t it be, Itachi-san?”

“I don’t put much salt in such stories.”

The taller man chuckled in amusement. The one named Itachi slowed to a stop and his partner did the same. The pair was silent, the fog dispersed around them. The sound of footsteps crushing leaves became audible.

“Perhaps there is a ghost here?” he was chuckling again.

A woman came dashing out of the woods, she tripped and landed against the cold, wet earth. She was a bit long and very thin, sickly almost. Her hair was a short, brown cut clinging to her neck. It was stained with what looked like dried blood. She raised onto her palms and coughed loudly, a hard, dry hacking sound.

“Sad little thing.” The large man’s hand reach back for the handle of the enormous sword on his back. “We should end her misery.”

Itachi did not respond, instead he watched as his partner approached the woman convulsing and clutching at her chest. She coughed again, this time a dark red and black mucus landed on the ground. She collapsed onto her hip, her eyes wide, gazing at the two men. There was a moment of pause between the three people, all staring at one another.

The mucus spread out on the ground and slowly became completely black. The woman stared at the growing pool. _This is just like…_ She gritted her teeth and sat up. There was no shock on her face as a hand appeared out of the black pool.

_This is exactly like the first nightmare._

She could see the two men were shinobi. The air about them told her such, but that was not her main concern. A long pale arm was rising from the muck.

“Perhaps there is some truth to the tale.” The tall man’s voice was odd, somehow gruff and high-pitched.

“Kisame, do not let your guard down.”

“What does it look like to you? Summoning jutsu or genjutsu?”

Mitsuru was on her feet in a few moments, stepping back as the elbow appeared at the edge of the long forearm.

“Neither.”

“…then?” Kisame glanced back at his partner.

Mitsuru was searching the area around her for a weapon. _Anything, a rock, a stick, anything._ She spotted a large stone only a few feet away. She lunged for it, but something large landed on her outstretched wrist. A sharp pain rushed up her arm, but she did not flinch or react, her fingers were just inches from the stone she sought.

“Hold on there, little girl.”

The taller man hand had struck her arm with a large wrapped object. When she looked up she could make out small eyes and blue skin just beneath a straw hat.

“What do you think you can do with a rock?”

“We need to kill it.” her voice was hoarse.

“By it, you mean that thing?” he turned slightly to arm rising from the black pool.

It was reaching upwards, grasping the air as though it were searching. It suddenly snapped down, it’s fingers carving into the wet dirt. A shoulder appeared just at the edge of the pool.

“We need to kill it now!” she screamed as loud as her voice would allow her.

“Now why would you want to kill it? It came out of you, didn’t it?”

Mitsuru became frustrated, her eyebrows knitted into a glare.

“My what an expression,” the man chuckled and the sword shifted atop her crushed wrist.

She felt the pain disappear and she snatched the rock. Spinning around swiftly she slammed the hard object into its forearm. A high-pitched screech came from beneath the black muck surrounding the abnormally long and pale limb. Bubbles broke its smooth surface, the ripples receding as it drew its arm back. Mitsuru rammed the rock into its limb again, breaking the bones. It screeched again and disappeared, the pool closing in on itself until the ground was normal again. She sighed letting the rock fall away from her grip, holding herself up with both palms.

“Now, this is an interesting turn of events, isn’t it, Itachi-san?”

 _Itachi?_ Her eyes became wide and she met the gaze of the shorter man only a yard back from his partner. Confusion filled her features.

“I was sure I had broken her wrist and yet she hit that thing like she hadn’t been hurt at all.”

Kisame lifted the large sword and rested it upon his shoulder.

“What should we do with her now?”

Itachi was silent for a few moments. He recognized that face, but he could not recall completely where he had last seen it.

“She knows our identities. We cannot keep her with us.”

“It’s settled then.”

Before she could react, her head was harshly whipped to the side, the sword swinging against it. Her skull cracked and blood began pouring down the side of her face. She collapsed onto the ground and everything went black.

But only for a moment. They both blinked and her skull was no longer fractured. The blood remained but she was rising again, her hand touching the place where the crack should have been. She didn’t show any reaction to the wound that should have been inflicted upon her. _So I guess I can’t die… at least not yet…_ She wiped the blood from her right eye and looked back up at him, her glare had returned:

“I’ve had worse.”

“Things just get more and more interesting.”

“Is she immortal?”

“Maybe I was a bit gentler than I meant to be? I’ve always had a soft spot for pretty girls.” He lifted his sword again with ease. “I’ll give it another go.”

“No need.”

Kisame turned back to his partner.

“We can investigate this when we are further from Konoha. We’ve lingered here far too long.”

Her glare drifted to the man lifting off his straw hat. She met a pair of red eyes and she fell limp.

“I guess I have to carry her.” The shark man scooped up the woman and slung her over the shoulder opposite to his sword.

“Let’s go.” Itachi leapt into the trees with his partner in tow.


	5. Familiarity

He’s always been incredible. I heard of him before I met him. Always training, always studying, always quiet.

I was sitting with my back against the cool cement wall, my knees pulled up to my chest. He was holding a kunai in his right hand and facing the wooden target. We had both arrived here at the same time with the intention of being alone, but upon spotting the other we silently agreed that each other’s presence would not impede our desired solitude.

My only question, if I had been inclined to ask it would be: _Do you know my name?_

_I know your name. Everyone knows your name._

_The seven-year-old genius._

_Do you know my name?_

The strike of his kunai piercing the wood shook the silence. Always precise, always perfect.

My father said:

“Make him your friend."  
_Why?_

“So you can learn from him.”

_Okay._

“Then defeat him.”

_Why?_

He’d become angry by then and would stop answering me.

When I stood, my classmate stiffened slightly but maintained his focus on his training.

“Itachi-kun.”

He turned to me. _Always so busy… not busy, that’s not the word, no… He’s always thinking, there’s always something happening behind those dark eyes._

“Would you show me… show me how you did that?”

_Make him your friend._

I could tell that he didn’t want to, not because it was me. He wouldn’t want to teach anyone. The feeling radiated off him. He doesn’t know me, why would he go out of his way to assist me?

He stretched out his hand with the kunai in it.

“Show me how you normally throw it.”

_Do you know my name?_

I threw it. It knocked against the wood at a wild angle then bounced to the ground, causing a puff of dust to rise for a few moments. A flush of embarrassment covered my round cheeks. I knit my eyebrows and glared down at the kunai.

He took my hand and placed another in it. He silently adjusted my fingers around it, then stepped behind me, one hand still on mine.

Still silent, he guided my arm in a swinging motion.

“You don’t need to throw with all your strength,” he finally spoke. “They’re designed to travel a good distance with little effort.”

He released my arm and I swung, the kunai slipped before I could throw it and it clattered to the ground nowhere near the target. My shoulders hunched and I glared him. His hand was over his mouth where a short laugh had escaped his lips. My glare weakened and I turned away in a huff. He took another kunai then placed it in my hand.

“Relax your fingers, don’t throw it, let it leave your hand with the motion of your arm.”

I sniffed then sighed, letting a calm wash over me. I did as he said, the kunai launched through the air in a smooth curve, landing near the bottom of the target with the handle pointing downward.

A toothy smile formed on my face. He was standing beside me now, his same emotionless expression on his face.

“Thank you!” I belted.

He nodded his head slightly then walked towards the target to collect the fallen weaponry.

“Ne, Itachi-kun!”

He was nearing me again.

“Would you like to be friends?”

He paused, taken aback by the abrupt question.

“…friends?”

**X**

The moon was red and the clouds were black. This world was far different from the nightmare. There were few people who had impacted her short life and one of them was standing before her in a long cloud printed cloak.

“…”

She wasn’t sure what to say. _Does he remember me?_

“I’m going to have to ask you to sleep now.” His deep voice was nothing the like the voice she remembered in her head.

“Do you know my name?”

**X**

Why had she asked me such a question before passing out? She clearly recognized me but my identity is somewhat well known. She does seem familiar, but I cannot recall. Did we attend the academy together?

Was it simply a display to place me into a confused mind set? Surely, we can remedy this once we are out of the land of fire.

**In Konoha**

An 18-year-old in pigtails was glowering at the spiky gray haired man.

“Mi-chan wouldn’t do that.”

“Oda-san,”

“Mi-chan wouldn’t do it.”

“Oda-san, please. I understand and appreciate your concern for your friend.”

“Kakashi-san.” She huffed his name accusingly.

“I have taken over the case, if you have any question you are welcome to ask me, but I will not be able to divulge all information.”

She groaned like a child who had been denied her toy and grasped at her pigtails.

The full-grown man was unsure how to handle such a display from a young woman, so he quickly excused himself. She called after him, but he was already some distance away. As he departed he glanced back to make sure she was not following.

_What a strange girl…_

**Elsewhere**

Kisame dropped the body onto the ground without hesitation, the long thin woman landed with a loud thump, face first into the dirt. Itachi remained beside the limp body, staring down at her with an intensely pensive expression. The blue skinned man stretched, releasing a deep groan of pleasure.

“Shall we camp here?”

“We should locate a water source.”

There was a moment of pause between them, but Itachi leaned down and picked the woman up.

“Can’t we just lop her head off?”

The concept disgusted the Uchiha. Though he had developed a calm indifference to death, it was a necessity to do so, he felt if it was within his power, he would prevent any unnecessary violence.

Itachi scooped her up bridal style and calmly headed in the direction of a river he knew well. It wasn’t long until they arrived and he, far more gingerly than his partner, set her down upon a patch of grass.

“I’m going to take a dip.”

“Don’t take too long, we are still in the land of fire.”

“Ah,”

The shark man unclipped his cloak, shifting his strong shoulders until the material had slid off. He had already leaned his large weapon against a tree. He tossed his cloak aside and dashed past the last thicket of trees to reach the river. The darker haired man seated himself with his back against a separate tree, staring into the distance.

When her eyes fluttered open he stiffened. She made a garbled sound as her body shifted atop the patch of grass. He did not move further, for it did not matter if she tried to escape, he could easily subdue her. In the next few moments she was on her hip, her short hair stuck to her face with dirt. Her gaze fell on him and she froze. They stared at one another silently, the air becoming thick with tension.

_Itachi Uchiha_

He watched her pale thin lips part then close.

“What are you going to do with me/” she spoke after a few more moments of silence.

He studied her expression. _Calm, she’s very calm._

“We will consult our leader and then you will know.”

_Leader? They work for someone then… Should I try to leave… he’ll just knock me out again… What other options do I have?_

“You’ve likely already concluded,” his deep voice overshadowed the sound of her thoughts. “It would be simply to incapacitate you again. It would be beneficial to remain submissive. Do not cause more trouble that you need to.”

Mitsuru considered his statements, not at all taken aback by his bluntness. She recognized a very “factual” tone, not arrogant or haughty in his warning. She sat up completely, suddenly becoming very aware of her dirt and sweat covered skin.

“May I have some water?”

 _Shouldn’t I try to fight him? Defy him? What good would it do?_ His dark eyes scanned the small form in front of him, understanding her intentions and still unconcerned if she were to attempt to escape. He rose to his feet gracefully.

“Follow me.”

She stumbled once she had straightened and a large hand grasped her arm. The grip was firm, surprisingly gentle, and incredibly warm. Their eyes met again, the proximity reduced, the tension immediate. Her breath caught in her throat, a strange involuntary tightness formed in his chest. Almost as quickly as it had formed it was broken and he was walking away from her. She trotted after him, somewhat dazed by their exchanged of energies, but she refocused on the prospect of water. Hopefully it would clear the awful taste in her mouth.

X

They came upon a river barely five feet across. The rush of the clear water along the stones called Mitsuru’s attention to her parched throat. She dropped to her knees without a second and submerged her entire head beneath the cool running water. She swallowed a few mouthfuls and lingered. A sudden sense of another’s presence had her opening her eyes. Before her was sharp-featured face. She leapt back, falling onto her bottom and gasping for air. Her chest heaved up and down as she gazed up at the large creature emerging from the shallow waters. He was grinning with a mouth full of sharp teeth, his small eyes filled with amusement.

“Watering the cattle?” he chuckled.

_Cattle?_

“We must depart soon.”

“Ah,” the large blue skinned man fell back into the water, creating a large splash and disappeared again.

How… It’s only a few feet deep? How can he disappear like that?

Water droplets soaked into her tattered blouse, causing it to cling to her skin. It took only a few moments for her to regain herself, she had never fully become adjusted to surprises, and quickly rolled up the edge of her khakis to reveal her mud slathered skin. After standing, she cupped water in her hands, being careful to stay near the edge and studying the stream in case the blue man tried to scare her again. Mitsuru splashed her legs repeatedly, watching the dirt trickle down her skin until she was mostly rinsed.

The drops of dirty water traveled down the smooth, light brown skin, some rushed, some slow as though they were savoring their brief time on her flesh. A dangerous urge was simmering deep within him. He recognized it, Itachi was not one to entertain denial, as he studied the water droplets he briefly wished to take their place. He recognized the temptation to cling close to warm, soft skin.

_We must do away with her quickly._

The sun had broken through the clouds and dried her exposed legs. She had felt the eyes of the man behind her, boring into her as she wiped away the filth. Her pant legs were returned to their previous length and she turned to him, a natural glare filling her own eyes.

Against her better judgement, she hissed:

“Pervert.”

His brows knitted, his fist clenching beneath his coat.

_Not quickly… immediately._

The large blue man came out of the water, shaking himself and running his fingers through his short dark blue locks. He was grinning still. Mitsuru glared at him as well.

“We’re going.”

Kisame noticed the slight strain in Itachi’s voice, a suppression of anger. He enjoyed the silent staring match occurring between the thin young woman and the tall Uchiha.

“What’re we doing with her?” he asked finally.

“Knock her out.” Itachi said without hesitation.

“I’m not going to run,” she growled.

“You heard him honey.” Kisame reached for his sword.

“I’ll keep up.”

“Just grit your teeth.” Deep amusement laced his tone.

A chill would have gone down her back if she had not heard such exclamations before. She reflexively stepped backwards. _Just run. Now._

A hand was on her back and she snapped around. Their eyes met one again and she expected to be returned to the red world, but a hand struck her neck and everything went dark. He caught her before she could hit the ground.

“I still think we should lop her head off.”

“Perhaps.”

Kisame chuckled and they leapt into the trees once again.

**X**

It was dark when she opened her eyes this time. A small fire was crackling a few feet from her head. She spotted the Uchiha to her left and she rose again. A large body was asleep on the other side of the fire.

The silence was longer, the tension appeared almost immediately.

“Uchiha Itachi.” She said his name softly.

He did not respond, but she could tell by the slight change in the air that he was listening.

“Do you know my name?”

“No.” his calm, matter-of-fact tone had returned, but he continued the conversation. “Should I know your name?”

“…I suppose not.”

The silence became awkward, strange, extremely uncomfortable. _How does one talk to people?_

“It’s… Mitsui Mitsuru.”

His eyes flashed wider for a moment, but he made no other indication that he recognized the name. _Her…_

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”

Itachi’s natural self was pushing against the cold surface.

“I do.”

Her shoulder’s rose in some shock, her head turning to face him, but darting back down to stare at the ground. Her hands fidgeted atop her pants, curling and uncurling. An unexpected warmth filled her chest. _He remembers me._ When she looked at him again she finally noticed the headband on his forehead with a slash through the leaf symbol.

“…It’s been a long time…”

“Ah.”

“You didn’t have to be so rough with me.”

The playful turn in their conversation felt strange. _Does she not know about me? The last time we spoke… I was about eleven, before it all happened._

“After I woke up from my coma, I didn’t think I would have to do much rough-housing…” She considered her statement, recalling the events of the previous evening, her stomach churned. “But it’s fine, it’s a little relieving not having to think about what I’m going to do… though I could do without being tossed around like a rag doll.”

Her sincerity was off-putting _. She can’t know, she would not be talking to me so calmly._

“Coma?” he inquired very lowly.

“Un, I was… about eleven when it happened.”

“I see.”

The silence returned, though much cooler than before.

“How are you?”

Itachi shut his eyes. _I don’t believe I’ve ever explained myself to anyone… should I? No. Let her keep her friendly manner, it may make this easier._

“Well.”

 _Liar_ , was the first word that came to her mind.

“And yourself?”

“Peachy.”

 _Liar_ , he thought, letting his eyes reopen and his gaze fall on hers.

And she smiled. A twisting, tightening sensation filled his chest and he dug his nails into his palm.

_This cannot happen._

He sighed, a sound indicative of an intense internal battle and she let out a soft giggle. He suddenly looked very tired.

“I must put out the fire.” He slipped out of his cloak and held it out to her. “The temperature will likely drop more… and you are not wearing much.”

“…thank you…” she took it, but continued to stare at his revealed person.

He was broad shouldered, but thin waisted. A feeling stirred within her, but she bit her lip and pulled the cloak around herself. Though she had hoped shutting her eyes would allow her to ignore the feeling, she became aware of a strong masculine scent, lining the fabric.

_No, I can’t feel like this… I don’t deserve…_

“Get some sleep.” He commanded.

“I’ve had enough for a lifetime…” she countered.

He refused to look at her.

“Suit yourself.”

She refused to look at him.

Both clenched their fists and kept their heads turned away; both warred internally against an intense, unwavering attraction.


	6. Turn

It was a sea of white in which she floated so softly she thought she had died.

**X**

I thought I had gone blind, but that didn’t make sense. Do the blind see only white? Of course not, they see nothing. Then where am I and why can I see only white?

My head titled to the right but there was no change. There were no shadows, there were no indentations of any kind. The walls, if there were any, had no features. I am floating in a sea of white.

I could only move my head. I attempted to move my hands but they remained still. I could not feel them, I looked down and tried to move them again, but again I could feel nothing below my neck. No that isn’t quite right, I can feel my limbs, but I cannot control them.

Perhaps this just another strange dream? Though, I would consider this a very tame dream compared to ones I’ve had. And if this isn’t a dream, have I simply passed away in my sleep? Am I in purgatory? Purgatory sounds heavenly compared to living. I awake from a nightmare just to murder two innocents then am held captive by two dangerous ninja? It is not all bad I suppose… there’s… Itachi.

“Stop now.”

My face is hot.

No. Absolutely not.

I squeezed my eyelids shut to will away this strange, new feeling. I have no time for this. I have done unspeakable things, I don’t deserve to feel something like this.

A cold sensation appeared in my center. What is this? A sudden dread enshrouded the rest of my body, the white around me seemed to be vibrating as though it were reacting to the arrival of something.

Here it comes, but from where.

I moved my head again, twisting in every direction my neck would allow. Come. I’m ready. After what you’ve made me do, I don’t care how hideous you are. We can have our final battle now.

And there was a sharp pain tearing through my abdomen. Like nails were clawing against the underside of my skin. I grit my teeth and looked down. My blouse was moving… no… my skin is moving. My teeth clenched harder and harder.

This is just a dream.

A single point rose from the center of my stomach, blood sopping into my shirt from it. The higher it rose the faster the blood poured.

My vision blurred from the pain, my head falling back, my mind hazy. I might pass out.

I groaned when it tore, the skin I mean. The shirt tore shortly after that and a hand became visible. The fingers were bone-thin and extremely long.

This is just a dream. It is only a dream.

Amidst the red, torn folds of flesh an eye appeared: large, milk-white, and bloodshot.

An eye. An eye is looking up at me from inside my stomach.

My body harshly jerked to one side then the other and the top of a head burst through with the final jerk.

I vomited, but it was only more blood.

It rose out of my abdomen, it’s claws latching onto my breast plate, and snarled at me before shifting into its natural grin.

It’s only a dream.

Its mouth unhinged, a mix of blood and dark goop dribbled from between its teeth.

Just… a…

**X**

Mitsuru sat up suddenly whilst clutching at her abdomen. Her hands pressed to the unharmed blouse, smoothing over its creases gently.

“You were having quite a nightmare there.” A delighted voice commented.

The shark man named Kisame was smiling at her as she wiped cold sweat from her brow. She glared at him but did not speak, she did not want to speak to him. He was sitting up with one large arm rested atop a raised knee. His sharp teeth made her weary of him so she kept her gaze forward, avoiding eye contact. Instead she studied the Uchiha who was a short way away, laying on his side, seemingly sound asleep.

She climbed off Itachi’s outstretched cloak that she had fallen asleep on and lifted it. With a few quick flicks of her wrist she brushed away whatever dirt she could then walked over to the sleeping man.

Kisame watched her with an expression of mirth, his small eyes devouring the image of a young woman laying a cloak over his partner. It was a simple gesture, but considering the state of their relationship this morning, he was now sure that they had transformed it in only the few hours he had been asleep. _One must be sweet on the other, or she was at least sweet on Itachi_ , he thought.

She returned to her spot on the dirt with her legs pulled up to her chest. Her forehead pressed against her knees, a sigh of exhaustion leaving her thin, pale lips.

_It was a just a dream, but… it felt just like my nightmares. Is it going to appear again? Will it be able to take control of me and make me attack people again? Can it do it at will? If so then why doesn’t it just take control of me now? I thought I was successfully fighting against it, but does that work? Is the only reason it’s not controlling me now because it needs to gather some energy on its own? Doesn’t that mean I’m just a sitting duck? If I can’t really fight it then what am I supposed to do?_

_Just accept my misery?_

“So what’s your story?”

She looked up in surprise. The strange looking man was eager to learn more about his partner’s potential love interest. Perhaps he would be lucky enough to see the Uchiha trip up, slip up, become flustered at some point. What a sight it would be. One of the last stoic Uchiha, reduced to the average love-stuck male. Though it was unlikely. Why would his partner be interested in such an unwomanly woman? Kisame himself was uninterested in her. _She has a decent face, sure, but no breasts with wide set hips. What an odd combination. She’s missing her good parts._

“What do you mean, what’s my story?”

Kisame preferred high female voices over low female voices. _Much cuter_ , he thought.

“Why were you rushing through the woods yesterday?”

“You’ve never just gone for a jog?” she hissed.

He couldn’t resist letting out a chuckle, his chest moved with each short exhale of air. _My what a personality._

“What village are you from?”

“…what does it matter to you?”

_Annoying._ He was losing his patience. _So she’ll only talk to Itachi-san. Fine, I’ll ask him about her the next time she’s asleep_.

**A Short Time Later**

Day broke and they were off once again, this time with Mitsuru trotting behind them both. She wasn’t used to walking for this long, but she gritted her teeth and pushed on. Her hand would wipe sweat from her face, her arms would pump at her sides when she would run to catch up. Both noticed her struggling but neither tried to assist her.

They had walked some distance before finally coming to a stop in a clearing. Mitsuru dropped to her knees, panting hard, her face dripping from the overexertion.

“Someone is out of shape.”

“I woke up from a coma not even a year ago.” She gasped for air, her hand pressing against her chest.

She could feel her heart slamming hard against her ribcage.

There was something fishy about this woman. She appears out of the forest pale as a ghost, running at full speed, but her body is not conditioned for so much exercise? Kisame watched her crumple to the ground still gripping her sweat covered shirt, but his expression quickly altered from suspicion to amusement as his partner bent to hand her a water canteen.

“Thank you,” she managed between pants.

She swallowed down a few mouthfuls and held it out to him.

“You may finish it.”

Her eyes became wide.

“I can’t finish your water.” She protested.

“We will be near another water source soon. You need it more than I do.”

She pouted but submitted. Kisame was grinning. Such a simple exchange would seem meaningless to any passerby, but to Kisame this told him all he needed to know.

His partner was smitten.

**X**

Her thighs felt like two led weights, her calves trembled with every step. I’m going to fucking collapse.

“Ugh, just kill me.” She moaned.

“We would if we could.” Kisame chuckled, not looking back at her.

“Or knock me out and carry me again.”

The shark man silently enjoyed her misery while Itachi resisted acting out of concern. He knew he had already given away too much. Of course his partner would notice the kindness he showed her, of course his partner would use it as leverage to alter the dynamic of their relationship. They only functioned well because Kisame respected that he was the stronger of the two, the more cool headed of the two, the leader. If he faltered they would fall out of sync, their missions would become more troublesome.

Yet his actions towards her were natural, automatic. He wanted to tend to her, to ease her pain. He wanted to touch her.

But he could not. He did not have time for such a thing, he did not believe he deserved such a thing.

“We will stop again soon.” He informed her.

“Not soon enough.” She groaned.

She trudged along behind them, not because she feared she would fall behind and would have to face a blow to the head that would knock her, but because she had an unwavering feeling that the small group, was in fact, being followed.

**In Konoha**

Though he completed his missions with his usual efficiency, Kakashi’s mind was far away. He reported to the current emergency staff, in place while they sought out the new Hokage, then made his way down the hall. He planned for a relaxing evening of re-reading his favorite series and thinking about…

A young woman rushed towards him. He paused as she screeched to a stop in front of him. Hanako stood before him with a look of fearless determination. Kakashi had become more and more acquainted with the woman since they met at the beginning of Mitsui’s murder investigation the previous day. It had been less than 24 hours since they had spoken last, but here she was looking ready to ask for an update.

_She’s just worried about her friend._

“Where is she?” her eyes flashed with fury.

Kakashi eyed her with caution. _Why is she angry? It’s not been long since this all began, yet, she’s furious?_

“Oda-san, we haven’t made any progress with the investigation, there are many things that have taken priority. If I discover something new-”

“Where. Is. She?” she snarled.

Kakashi’s eye widened slightly at the anger emanating from such a body. _What a strange girl. This… doesn’t feel normal._

“Oda-san.” He spoke more firmly, his brow furrowed. “Please be patient. We are doing all we can.”

“It’s not good enough! We need to find her now!”

“Why?” he asked.

_Of course she was only concerned for her friend, why else would she be so adamant? It’s difficult to believe someone you thought you knew well would suddenly attack a mother and child like some sort of flesh-hungry beast._

“We need to find her!” she repeated as though she hadn’t heard his question.

“We will, I’m sure. Once again, I ask you to please be patient.”

Her eyes remained wide. Were his words going to pass over her head again? He let out a sigh and reached out to pat her head, but she leapt back. His hand remained midair, stunned from her repugnance to his touch.

“Why are you so worked up? Is something bothering you about the case?” He prodded, _perhaps her personality is simply difficult?_

Her expression dissolved from anger to a strangely saccharine smile.

“I’m just worried is all.”

She showed her teeth in large grin then spun away from him. He watched her until she disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

With all his danger detecting instincts alerted he went in the opposite direction to a hidden door that would eventually lead him to the personnel files only accessible to Anbu. Inside he searched for hers. His fingers shuffled through the papers one by one, passing Mitsuru’s extremely short one, and pulled out the file he had been searching for.

Oda Hanako

Sex: F

Age: 10

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Status: Deceased


	7. Remembrance

“We could bury her or tie her to a tree so the animals will have at her.”

“She could dig her way out before the mud from your jutsu hardens. As for the tree, I’m sure someone will find her before she is eaten.”

Mitsuru’s fingers remained tightly clasped together. Her arms held fast around the middle of Itachi’s torso. The press of her body again his would have been nerve-wracking has she not been so exhausted. Her cheek was rested against his shoulder blade and her eyelids were heavy. Every muscle in her body screamed, but she could barely feel it. Sleep was on the horizon for the thin woman, but each jostle had her opening her eyes again.

Itachi had swallowed down the tiny burst of nerves that had erupted when she climbed onto his back. He remained stoic as he carried her, though he had noticed the expression on his partners face.

They had finally left the land of fire and entered neutral territory. Now the two men could find an inn to rest for a day or two before heading back to their closest hideout and figure out what to do with their extra cargo.

“We could seal her.”

“We would need to meet with Sasori first.”

Kisame hummed with a short nod. The pathway became smooth and Itachi evened out his steps. The soft rhythm lulled her to sleep finally. Itachi felt the light body relaxing against his back.

_Will she slip off? How should I react if she does? Should I catch her? I should, but I would need to do so without drawing much attention to us. If she falls directly backwards I likely won’t be able to catch her without making quite a fuss. If she falls to either side I can simply hook my arms back and stop her. Although I can prevent her from falling altogether if I balance her higher. If I do that though she will likely wake up._

“We should be near the next village soon.” Kisame spoke.

“Ah.”

X

She awoke on her side stretched across a warm, tatami floor. When she sat up she found she was alone. _Did they leave me here? No not likely… They must be really comfortable though not to be worried I’ll try to leave. Not that they should be, since I’m not going anywhere._ She brushed her fingers through her hair and caught a whiff of sweat and dirt.

_I reek._

She looked up and around the room.

_They wouldn’t mind if I took a bath would they?_

It took quite a few moments for her to balance on her weary limbs. She had only a single food pill given to her the previous morning by the shark man, so her energy levels were extremely low despite sleeping for so long. Her fingers gently slid the screen door open and her breath caught in her throat. For a split second, she thought she was being dragged back to her nightmares, but she quickly realized the thickening tension was due to the closeness of their bodies. Their eyes met and she refused to look away. His intense onyx gaze would not yield and her pale brown gaze remained locked on his. The hair around his face was slightly damp, clinging to his pale skin. A scent of soap drifted over her, urging her to look to the exposed muscular torso and low-hanging shorts, but she resisted.

Her hair was matted and patchy, her skin covered in stains. A putrid mix of bodily odors, that would have made anyone reel in horror, overwhelmed his senses, but he did not move. Instead there was a slight movement of his head, as though he were going to lower his face. Her lips parted naturally from his minute motion. Her features softened, the tiny space between her thin pink lips seemed to invite him closer. He closed some space with a languid tilt of his head and she turned away.

“I’m going to use the bath.”

There was only a slight waver in her tone, but he noticed it. He could feel the tension as well as she could, there was no use in hiding it.

Itachi studied her as she disappeared around the corner. He snapped from his own reverie and entered the room.

X

In the bath, she let her body finally relax. Her skin was soothed by the steam and gentle caresses of the lapping water. It hadn’t taken long for her to scrub every bit of her flesh, for she had been somewhat excited to sit in the bath. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a bath. It had to have been before her coma.

But being completely relaxed was impossible. At least for her. The feeling that she was alone was false. She knew better. It was still going to come after her, whatever it was. At some point. It would most likely be when she was alone.

When she opened her eyes, she half expected the water to have turned red with a face rising from beneath the waves. But it was still a deep green. Her pale limbs ruffled the stillness that then settled. She took in another deep breath before standing.

She didn’t want to linger her any longer.

Her skin felt soft and deeply soothed. She wrapped herself tightly in a long warm robe, gathered her soiled clothing in a pile, and made her way back to the room where both men were seated.

“You were right. She wouldn’t try to escape.” Kisame commented.

The now fully dressed Itachi remained silent. She knelt near the wall, then sat and pressed her back to it. She curled her legs up beneath the large robe, wondering if they planned on eating or if they had already eaten without her.

A voice came from outside the rice paper screen door and an older woman opened it. She informed them that their meal would be served now. Along with a few others, they laid out three trays of food, then left with a silent bow. Mitsuru stared at the tray closest to her, knowing that it was likely for her, but also considering that it may be some sort of joke that they were playing. We ordered this third tray so we could eat it in front of you.

Both men settled in front of their food and picked up their chopsticks, but Mitsuru remained against the wall.

“It’s going to become cold.” Itachi lifted a rice bowl.

She waited another moment and made a move.

Hot food. Warm food. When was the last time I…

“I’m not hungry.” She said.

“You should eat.”

It took quite a few minutes for her to come closer. It took longer for her to pick up her chopsticks. The soft clinks were the only sound for a short while, but Itachi finally broke it.

“You will likely be accompanying us for a while longer,” he began. “At least until we reach our comrade with sealing abilities. If you do not wish to be sealed away I suggest we… excuse my bluntness... find some use for you.”

“Use…”

“What types of jutsu do you have mastery over?”

“Finally asking her the important questions?”

Kisame joined the conversation.

Mitsuru wracked her brain for a better answer but could only sigh;

“None.”

The silence was longer than she expected.

“None? Absolutely none?” Itachi prodded.

“…I remember a few but I haven’t attempted since I woke up from my coma. I doubt I could really access them… at least not right away. I’m below genin level… I’m pretty much a civilian.”

“What of your affinities?”

“With some time I could probably manage to use my lightning… but as for wind and earth… I’ve never trained enough to use them.”

“Three? You don’t know any jutsu but you’re sure you have three elements?” Kisame looked skeptical.

“…kekkei genkai…” She said softly.

“Which?”

“…my mother’s. Magnet release.”

Both men glanced at one another.

“Oh, and who would your mother be?”

“…”

She slowly looked up at Itachi. Will saying it aloud change things? Will I suddenly become valuable?

“Go on then, it’d be better to tell us everything.” The shark man encouraged with a dangerous look.

“…my mother is the third kazekage’s daughter.”

“Well…” Kisame looked to his partner for confirmation. “That changes things, doesn’t it?”

“It might.” Itachi began. “Considering she has been in a coma in the land of fire, Sunagakure likely isn’t aware she is alive or aware that she exists.”

“True.”

“However, there is the possibility that if her identity becomes known, Sunagakure may target the Akatsuki. They likely wouldn’t want her kekkei genkai to be passed on to another nation. Instead they would want to capture her and keep her in their village to produce offspring.”

Offspring… pregnancy… birth… no thank you.

“If we keep her and train her she could be an asset.” Itachi said finally. “But that depends on how quickly she improves and if anyone wishes to volunteer to perform that duty.”

“If she’s earth and wind, then Deidara and Sasori would be the best teachers, but knowing them they would never agree.”

They became engulfed in their inquiry, both considering the task of training Mitsuru. She watched them both in their contemplation, knowing that having a choice in the matter was impossible. Her life was going to be laid out before her, just like it always had.

X

When the trays were cleared, Kisame left, grumbling that the inn did not serve liquor, and once again she was alone with the Uchiha. He was seated with one arm atop a raised knee and a pensive look across his face. She studied the lines in the straw weaved floor. Her fingers absent-mindedly brushed along a patch that was dented.

“Mitsui.”

She looked up.

“I have another question, if you’re willing to indulge me.”

“…what is it?”

“The last I saw you…”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what happened before you went into a coma?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Simple curiosity.”

She flicked a bit of straw.

“I haven’t thought about it. When I do think back my mind becomes flooded with… images.”

He watched her silently.

“When I see those images I always try to think of something else.” She admitted. “I never get very far with my… remembrances.”

“What sort of images?”

“…would you believe me if I told you?”

He seemed slightly confused by her question.

“Imagine your worst nightmare…” she paused. “Multiply it by ten, then imagine enduring it for seven years.”

His expression showed no shock or concern. He absorbed the information, but did not respond because he expected there was more. When she didn’t continue he asked:

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“It was like genjutsu, only… it wasn’t.”

“So you weren’t in a coma, you were under someone’s genjutsu?”

“No.” she said firmly.

His brows knitted slightly. He was unconvinced.

“I guess I could describe it as a demon put me in a coma and tortured me so I would give up my body as its vessel.” She leaned her head back against the wall. “But when I say it allowed it sounds ridiculous.”

“That it does.”

She frowned. Itachi watched the curve of her throat become exposed.

They were alone. If he had any opportunity to rid himself of his urges it would be now, but Itachi was not one to immediately act upon desires. He needed to apply careful consideration first.

“But it’s what happened. I was attacked…” her eyes became wide and she straightened.

“What is it?”

“I remember…”

X

I remember Hanako had come to my front door asking for me. It was strange, she had never come to my home before. She smiled at me in the halls of the academy, but nothing else. Why was she suddenly at my door begging my father to have me train with her?

“Is Mi-chan free? I would really like to train with her!”

Of course my father agreed. It was my day of rest, but that didn’t matter. Anything to improve my skills. So there I was with this girl who I didn’t really know. Did she want to be my friend? Why today of all days?

We had come upon a gathering of rocks that looked normal enough, but she eagerly pushed a rather large one aside to show me a hole big enough for a small animal to hide into. I asked her why she wanted to show me this, but she eagerly pointed at the opening.

“Let’s explore, Mi-chan!”

Mi-chan? Why did you start calling me that? We’ve barely ever spoken before and now you’ve given me a nickname? And why should we explore a dark, dirty hole? Is what I wanted to say, but her large smile and my lack of confidence had me on my knees and crawling through in moments.

The earth was soft under my fingers, breaking away with every shift. Why had this not collapsed on itself?

“Hurry!”

Why? What was down here that I needed to hurry?  
My hand met an opening suddenly and I was falling. I landed on a pitch black surface that was hard and smooth. A sharp pain rushed up my elbow from the impact.

“Where are we?” I managed to ask. “Oda-san, what’s down here?”

Why am I down here?

When I sat up my eyes went wide for a second. She was kneeling in front of me with a short match illuminating her small face. Her smile was larger than before.

Creepy, was my first thought, but why would this little girl, this classmate of mine make me feel any sort of worry. I was stronger than her at this point. I had higher marks than her in class. She was no threat.

“Oda-san…”

There was a shifting sound behind me and all my instincts were alerted.

There was danger here. Why did I just agree without thinking?

“Oda-san, what is that?”

The flame on her face was dying slowly. It went out only a moment later and there was silence. I shut my eyes.

Just make a connection with the earth. Lightning. Use your lightning. Find the opening with your mind and make your way out. There’s nothing she can do to hurt you. She’s weaker than you. She’s weaker than you. She’s weaker than you.

I heard another match being lit and I opened my eyes. Plastered on the face of my classmate was a mouth full of sharp teeth. In a strange, distorted voice she said:

“Big sister needs a host too.”

There was a snarl behind me and sudden rapid skittering. I launched myself away from the oncoming sound and towards where I had deciphered the opening. I couldn’t find a grip in the dirt.

Fight it, should have been my instinct, but in the dark I was at a disadvantage. I didn’t have full control of my sensing abilities. I needed to flee.

I found footing before I found a grip and used it to push myself higher. That’s when I grabbed a root. With all my strength, I pulled myself up. There was a brushing of wind near my leg as I moved upwards.

Something almost grabbed me.

I used each scooping of dirt to raid myself higher and higher, inch by inch. Whatever it was I needed to get away. Or at least get into the light.

And there was grass between my fingers. Dragging myself from the hole, I yanked my foot out just in time to see a claw-like hand springing from the darkness only to retreat.

What the fuck was that?

“Mi-chan~”

Hanako’s voice reverberated from within the earth.

“Mi-chan, I thought you were exploring with me?”

I was on my feet and backing away. Her voice didn’t sound muffled anymore. Where the hell is it coming from?

My back hit something. My skin went cold.

“If you’re not going to stay.”

Behind me.

“You’re going to have to sleep.”

I’m not fast enough.

Fingers were over my eyes.

And it was dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please let me know how my pacing is coming along! I don't know if I'm doing too much or too little at some points and it's a bit hard to discern since I'm immersed in what I'm writing. I know what's coming when generally, but let me know what you think.  
> Thank you!


	8. Discovery

_I remember. There was a report from the Uchiha police force that there was a strange residual chakra, though extremely faint and nearly indetectable near where Mitsuru had been found unconscious. As per protocol, one of the officers activated his sharingan and scanned the area. He detected a faint outline behind a stone. They planned to investigate it themselves but it  quickly faded away. I learned that they had no intention of working on the case any more than the initial report, because of a general lack of evidence. As for Oda Hanako, she was nowhere to be found._

_Why didn’t I remember this earlier? I suppose it was so long ago…_

_But why was she reported as deceased and not missing if they didn’t find a body? Did they misreport it? Or did they find a body? If I can find confirmation that that they found a body, then who is this Oda Hanako walking around Konoha? Should I confront her to find out? She may become hostile. First I’ll search for the full police report in whatever records are leftover from the Uchiha massacre. I hope that will clear some things up…_

He returned the file to its drawer and passed through multiple aisles towards the older incident reports. He quickly found the report and read through, finding that all the information was exactly what he already knew.

_They found no body, but pronounced her deceased. Then might it really be her? If she was just missing and she returned home, did her parents not report it to the police force? She would have returned to the academy unless she suffered a serious injury… but she was wearing a forehead protector around her waist. Then there must be a record of her at the academy._

**A Short While Later**

Kakashi knocked on the door to the office of a man he was well-acquainted with. Iruka’s voice came from behind the thin wood, inviting him in rather warmly.

“Iruka-sensei.”

“Kakashi-san, what brings you here?”

“I’m doing an investigation of a fairly old incident. Do you have access to the records for Oda Hanako?”

“I do have a key to the older files. What is this about? Just occupying yourself between missions?”

“It’s a bit of a branch off from another incident that happened recently.”

“I see.”

Iruka led him down a hallway to a room in the very back of the academy.

“Though I’m not sure if the two are connected.” Kakashi continued “I’ve had a strange feeling about it since this morning and I wanted to get it off my chest.”

“Well, I hope this can help you out a bit. You said, Oda Hanako? Do you know the year?”

Iruka dipped his hand into an old filing cabinet.

“It should be about 11 years ago.”

“Hmm,” he rifled through the back folders and found one that was much larger than the rest.

“That’s Uchiha Itachi’s class, well, he graduated ahead of them all, of course, but they are his classmates. I’ve had to drag this one out quite a few times.”

He set the stack on a desk and opened it to reveal the paperwork detailing the young Uchiha’s single year at the academy. He finally separated his stack from the rest of the students files.

“She should be in here somewhere.”

Kakashi patiently waited until Iruka pulled out a total of two pages on the person he was searching for.

“Oda Hanako.” He handed the grey haired man his paper. “She went missing in her fourth year at the academy. And another girl in the class, if I remember, yes. She went missing around the same time but was found unconscious in the woods… her name was… ah, Mitsui Mitsuru.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. I remember seeing these two files when I was organizing this folder for the first time. It seems they never discovered the perpetrator of the kidnappings.”

“Kidnappings?”

“Well, that’s what some people called it. Though I’ve heard some people say it was onikakushi.”

“Spirited away, huh…”

Kakashi read through the file he held quickly, as he had an idea that it wouldn’t give him much information. As he studied he had a sudden thought.

“Iruka-sensei.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know if Oda-san’s parents are still alive?”

“I’m not sure.”

Kakashi stared at the address of the parents home.

“Would it be alright if I copied their address?”

“It should be fine. You would just have to go all the way back to the Hokage’s office otherwise.”

“Thank you.”

**Late Afternoon**

The front door slid open slowly to reveal a middle aged woman with large, dark bags beneath her pale brown eyes.

“Good Afternoon,” he bowed deeply to the woman. “My name is Hatake Kakashi, I am currently conducting an investigation and I was wondering if I could ask you a question about your daughter?”

The woman’s eyes widened and her already somber expression became bluer.

“I see. Go ahead.”

“I apologize, I know this may be difficult for you.”

“Ah.”

“They concluded the report of your daughters disappearance by stating she was deceased, but there was no record of her body being found.”

“...we never recieved a body.” the woman was looking down at the ground now, clearly no longer wanting to take part in the conversation.

He thanked her for her compliance and recited a departing statement, as he did not want to push her any further.

Kakashi knew there was only one place left to investigate and he leapt away.

**Elsewhere**

Kisame left the screen door wide open so the cool air would come though. It passed over them quite gently as both men lay asleep. Mitsuru was told to wake one of them if something happens. She felt odd in this position. She never expected to be entrusted with their safety like this, at least not right away. If someone came to assassinate them she could simply remain quiet and let the perpetrator do as they pleased, but she had a faint understanding of why they allowed her to play lookout.

They were confident that nothing could harm them.

_Well, that’s fine for them, but if it’s something that’s coming for me…_

She knew when night fell whatever it was that was following them would come closer. She could feel it. _Had neither of them noticed it?_ She remembered Itachi being perceptive about these things. _Was he being overconfident or was the thing following us not detectable by the Uchiha?_

She gripped the robe and stared out into the garden past the open screen door. The shadows would occasionally dance across the strong candle-light, for the gentle breeze jostled the leaves on the trees.

 _I know it's coming but from where, from out there?_ Mitsuru crossed her legs and glared out into the darkness.

_Of course it will come from there? Where else would it come from?_

Her eyes had not yet adjusted to gazing out in the darkness so she blinked hard to try and clear the blur.

_There is a woman standing there._

A white, motionless figure had nestled itself in the shadows. It was straight and it’s clothes did not shift with the wind. Mitsuru braced herself, keeping her eyes on it.

 _I remember this one. If I look away it will come closer. If I move it will attack me right away. Just hold on._ Every muscle in her body tensed in anticipation of its movement. She dare not blink.

The eyes of the Uchiha lying in front of her opened. He detected something, but he did not make another move. He saw the hard look on Mitsuru’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked at him. The cool air became heavy and she looked back at the figure that was now standing in the opening to the room. She stared at its featureless face while opening one palm to the man watching her.

“Give me a weapon.”

He didn’t respond.

“Shuriken, kunai, anything!”

His hand moved to the pouch still attached to his hip and the creature bent forward in half. A screech filled the space, but it was coming from the back of its head. A sharp featured face appeared through the thin black hair and it crawled rapidly towards her. Kisame awoke and lurched up for he thought he felt something touch him, but when he looked around the only saw his partner leaping to the side and the young woman falling back as though something were atop her.

Which was strange because he couldn’t see anything.

Itachi’s sharingan saw something faint, a reddish purple outline but no solid body. _Was it a jutsu being used by some distant force? That must be it. But what is it doing? It’s moving like it's some sort of animal._

Mitsuru’s hands desperately punched and kicked at the face that had lodged its square teeth into her arm. But she was weaker. It snapped back taking a chunk of her with it and swallowed it down like it was the most delicious thing it has ever eaten.

“Kunai now!” she screamed at Itachi.

In a flash he had flicked a sleek metal weapon to the straw beside her hip. She grasped it, moving into a crouch despites the burning sensation in her arm, and launched herself at the nearly imperceivable creature in the room with them. It tried to grab her arms but got a hold of its hair and stabbed the kunai into one of its eyes. She quickly did the other making sure to lodge it as deeply as possible. The creature collapsed but quickly began to dissolve into a deep black muck.

To Kisame, a young woman had fallen over, her flesh was torn from her bone, then she launched herself on top of nothing and stabbed down as though there were something there to stab. It would have been funny if he didn’t know that it was completely insane. Yet his partner went along with it. _Are they playing a trick on me?_

Itachi watched the extremely faint glow dissipate into nothing. He expected to see it flow back in the direction it came from, but that was not the case.

“Mitsuru.”

She sat back against the wall, her lacerated arm fell to her side limpy. Each heavy breath caused a puff of warm air to leave her lips. Her head moved just enough that she could see the skin of her damaged arm slowly regenerating. Itachi knelt in front of her.

“It’s going to take a while. It seems whatever is keeping you immortal works slowly when it’s an external injury. It’ll take a few hours, at least.”

“Why is it when he,” she motioned to the shark man, “fractured my skull I got right back up?”

“It’s working from the inside out. The source of your ability is likely due to something within, either a hidden object or it’s mapped somewhere on an internal organ. I assume it’s most likely you brain or your heart. The further your physical injury is from them the longer it takes to heal.”

“And how did you figure that out?” She snapped.

“It’s merely an observation.” He retrieved bandages from his pouch. “In order for us to find some use for you, we must understand how your body works.”

“That’s why we should experiment.” Kisame was cradling his sword in his arm.

He assumed they were going to ignore what just happened. _They have some secret going on between the two of them. Itachi is always calm, but he always provides explanations for event when needed. He’s not questioning her so he must have expected something like this to happen? Whatever it was that happened._

“Chop her arm off and see if it reattaches, if she sprouts a new one or if not.”

“I have a feeling her ability will be enough trouble as it is,” he began wrapping the still regenerating flesh. “Also we’ve caused enough damage here. We should head out before the landlord finds the mess we’ve made.”

“We’ve made?” Kisame was on his feet and snatching up his cloak. “I’m not the one who threw herself all over the room."

_Threw herself?_

“Kisame,”

“Hmm.”

“You didn’t see it?”

“See what? This little freak jumping around?”

“You could?” Mitsuru asked Itachi, her eyes were wide.

“I saw an outline of sorts, it was very weak.”

“...but you saw something?”

“...yes.” He eyed her with some suspicion.

She sighed in deep relief, her shoulders became lax. Finally a smile came upon her face. Itachi was slightly startled by her sudden change of expression.

“You saw it.” She exclaimed.

He didn’t respond this time, for a sensation of warmth and connection was swelling in his chest. Instead he focused on finishing the wrapping on her arm and let his mind reexamine the events that had occured. Something was bothering him. He felt he had seen a chakra-outline like that before, but he couldn’t remember exactly where.

**In Konoha**

The air was warmer than usual despite the sun setting in the distance. Small formations of rocks were usual in this type of forest, but he had memorized the coordinates and was sure he was in the right spot. He looked around the area and of course saw nothing. He gently lifted the headband covering his eye, a surge of chakra activated his sharingan. Just before him, deep beneath the pile of rocks he saw a reddish-purple outline of a person. Immediately he knelt down and pried the large rock away from the earth.

“He’s going to find them.”

A whisper drifted out from deep within the tunnel he had uncovered. _Someone is in there._

“He’s going to take them.”

He made a few signs then placed a palm against the ground. The hole widened significantly and he started downwards. The inside was pitch black except for a tiny pool of light on a smooth, stone floor. His sharingan searched for the aura he had once detected but it was no longer detectable.   _Where could it have gone? Is it masking itself?_ His eyes closed. _It couldn’t have rushed past me._ He took a step and his foot tapped against something soft. _This is…_

He lowered his body carefully, his hand rested on a piece of cloth.

_I need a light source._

He fished into his pouch for a kunai and used it to reflect the fading light. He managed control of the finicky patch of yellow, then aimed towards the ground in front of him.

For the first time this day his eyes widened in absolute shock. He almost launched himself to the side of the emaciated form laying across the stone. The chest rose ever so slightly and his hand grasped her wrist to search for a pulse.

“Oda-san? Can you hear me?”

The weakest moan came from beneath her thin, cracked lips. The skeleton-like body remained motionless aside from the slow, shallow rises of her ribcage. Her clothing was too small, torn and caked with dirt and blood.

“Please.” a faint, but hoarse voice came out of her.

He leaned down and put his ear to her mouth.

“Kill me.”


	9. Sensation

**Morning**

"I'll wait out here." the shark man leaned against a sturdy wooden wall with his weapon against his body.

"Ah." Itachi responded and lifted the shop curtain out of the way.

Mitsuru took his polite invitation and entered the clothing store. Everything was plain colored and designed simply. The owner of the shop was seated on a short stool with cloth and sewing supplies. She did not address them when they entered and she remained focus on her own task.

"Pick whatever you need." Itachi spoke.

"Thanks."

She grabbed the first black shirt that looked her size and a pair of black shorts as well. They went to just above her knee when she held it against her waist.

"This is enough."

"Sandals." he said.

"You're right."  _I shouldn't be walking around with just these messed up socks anymore._

It took a couple tries for her to figure out her shoe size. When she was done she carried them all to the store owner. Itachi paid for her and they left without another word.

The small group was generally silent as they left the village. Idle conversation came when everyone was in the mood, but neither of the men were interested and Mitsuru was preoccupied with the new clothing that she carried in her hands.

"We're far enough that we likely won't encounter anyone. You can change somewhere behind the-" Before he finished his statement she was already dropping her robe.

They watched her become entirely bare before them, not once pausing, hesitating, or flushing with embarrassment. She slid on the shirt leisurely, then pulled the shorts up in one smooth motion. Her tattered clothes were gathered into a pile that she held above her head when she finished changing.

"Thank goodness. Let's burn it!"

_Like I thought, she's missing the good parts of a woman._

Itachi was far more stunned by the display than his partner.

"What?" she noticed them both staring.

Kisame let out a low chuckle and continued down the dirt path they set out on. Itachi snapped his gaze away from her and followed.

**Evening, One Week Later**

"How much longer until we get to your organization's hideout? It can't be that much further, right?"

"It will take two more more weeks."

_Two weeks? I'm going to have to walk for two whole weeks. Seriously, why can't I just die?_

Naturally she fell behind. She wanted to keep up, especially at night, but the past few days had been incredibly quiet and not once were they disturbed by a strange creature searching for flesh. However, her body was becoming heavier with each step.  _I feel weird. This isn't…_  A strange warmth was developing in her. Her fingers curled into fists.  _This…_  Her legs buckled and she dropped to her knees.  _What the hell is this feeling? It's weird. It's so weird._

"Mitsuru."

Itachi paused, he was looking back at her from beneath his straw hat.

"What's wrong?"

"...I-I just…"

Her thighs squeezed tight and she clenched the edge of her new shirt.

"I feel weird." the timbre of her voice had softened.

Itachi noted the changes, the flushed face, the light perspiration, the subtle twitches in her limbs.  _A fever?_  He knelt before her. Her gaze slowly traveled up to meet his. A glaze had set over her brown eyes and her lips were parted to release weak, shallow pants.

"Can you walk?"

She shook her head and her body shuddered.

Kisame was watching them as they spoke.  _Here the freak goes again. Always something going on with her. We are going to seal her. I'm not going to stand them making googly eyes at each other every hour._

Itachi scooped her up bridal style and she clung to his cloak.  _Everything feels so weird. And…_  Her legs twitched.  _It's so hot. My body feels so hot._

A flurry of strange sensations cascaded through her shivering limbs. She found herself wanting to bite Itachi's cloak and squirm but she resisted all her urges. What she was feeling was strange enough.

They had planned to stop tomorrow night, but circumstances had them setting up camp right then.

"You two take first shift." Kisame walked a short distance from the dark haired pair and plopped down against a wide tree.

Itachi set Mitsuru gently against a separate tree. He slid his cloak off and placed it around her shoulders. Since his partner was facing away, he felt slightly more at ease with showing her some kindness. He shifted on his feet as though he were going to move away, but a small hand grabbed just beneath the collar of his shirt.

The sight of the blushing cheeks caused the pace of his heartbeat to increase.

"Mitsuru."

She added her other hand to gripping his shirt and tugged him down just a bit.

"What are you doing?"

"...Itachi…"

"What?"

"I feel weird."

"I can't help you if you're not specific." he took one of her wrists with a firm hand.

"It's really hot."

"What is?"

"..."

He finally saw her look away bashfully.

"Down there." she whispered.

"...by down there, you mean… your vagina?"

She released him and shrunk away.

"Are you menstruating?"

"...me-menstru… what?"

"Menstruating."

"What… what is that?"

He stared at her with an expression of disbelief for a split second, but he returned to his normal stoicness.  _I suppose… it makes sense she doesn't know what that is. She went into her coma before she reached childbearing age. But if she was in the hospital for a year, I assume a doctor would inform her of what it is._

"It's the process through which a woman's body discards it's uterin lining. Once a month your body releases an egg in preparation for bearing a child, but when that preparation is unfulfilled, as in your egg isn't fertilized, your body has to get rid of the built up tissue and start the process over."

Her eyes were wide.

"If you are bleeding out of your vagina then that is what you are experiencing."

"But… I'm not. I've never bled out of there before… not once even when I was in the hospital. I…"

"Perhaps your body is only feeling the symptoms and you haven't reached the point where you can menstruate again?"

"But… I've never felt like this before."

Her hands squeezed her still tremoring thighs.

"It's… sort of like… something… is…"

She yelped and grabbed onto his sleeve.

"It hurts."

She was panting louder, her eyes were glossy again. He placed a hand against her forehead.  _She's sweating more. Perhaps it actually is a fever?_

"But it…"

Her hands reached up to cup his face and he stiffened. Itachi did not move as her face leaned closer to his.

"It feels really good." she moaned softly.

His blood rushed downward. She took a hold of his hair and closed the space.

**Early that Afternoon**

Kakashi waited outside the patient's bedroom door. Her final therapy session for the day was going to end soon and he would be able to speak to her. He had a million questions, but he told himself he would have patience. She was alone in a cave for seven years. She was bound to be working through extreme trauma. The doctor's filed out of the room and a nurse invited him in.

"Oda-san."

"Kakashi-san." she smiled at him as he entered.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel okay. My mom came. She was so happy to see me…" her smile grew.

_Now that is a real smile, not like I saw on the other Oda's face. This is the real Oda Hanako._

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thank you."

There was a silence, but the extremely thin and pale woman sitting in the bed was still smiling.

"...thank you…" she repeated.

He put a hand on hers.

"Thank you for not listening to me… I had gone through so much. I just wanted it to end, but now that I'm here. Now that I've seen my mom. I'm really grateful."

He squeezed the thin limb gently.

"Things are going to be tough for you, but the doctor's will take good care of you. I'm sure you'll be leaving soon."

She nodded slightly and his hand retreated.

"If you are ready, I would like to ask you about everything that happened. As little or as much as you can tell me at a time."

"I can talk about it, but…" her eyes showed a deep sense of doubt. "I feel like you're going to call me crazy."

He chuckled:

"Try me."

"...where should I start?"

"Do you know how you ended up in that cave?"

"I was trying to find somewhere to practice my new jutsu, somewhere where I wouldn't accidentally hurt any wildlife. I stopped because I thought I heard something. There was a hole in the ground that I thought it had come from. I assumed it was an animal so I started walking away. And this extremely long arm shot out and grabbed me. It dragged me in."

Her voice weakened.

"It was so dark. I didn't know where I was or what had happened."

Her frail hands raised to her cheeks.

"There were fingers on my face, just touching me as though it were studying how I looked. I took a long time for me to see anything, but when I did it was just two bloodshot eyes staring at me."

Her hands dropped into her lap.

"I passed out or fell asleep or something. When I opened my eyes I wasn't in the cave, but I knew there was something wrong. Everything was… grey. It looked like a deserted village. I thought I was alone but… the monsters came."

"Monsters?"

"I don't know how else to describe them. Humans but not. Ghosts but not. Animals but… not. I ran. I kept fighting but eventually something got me. I was being eaten. I thought I was going to die. the pain was so intense."

Her limbs trembled.

"But then I opened my eyes again and I was where I started. Something different came after me. I died again I woke up again… I thought I was going insane. I kept trying to tell myself it was just a nightmare, that I'm going to wake up. Then… She came."

"She?"

"A woman. Or it looks like a woman, it can make itself look like a woman. A really pretty woman."

"Did you get a name?"

"I don't think it has a name. It didn't attack me directly. It only came to show me it was… it was in charge of everything. Then the real torture started."

Kakashi was knitting his brows. He said he would believe her, but the idea that all this was happening without being noticed by anyone in Konoha, for seven years nonetheless, was almost impossible to believe.

"She had different monsters. Ones that act like they think, like they have brains. It… it…." she covered her face as fresh tears sprung forth.

"One strangled me. One dissected me… it was something different each time."

_Her body showed only small scratches and bruises. So this all happened in her head? It must be some kind of genjutsu, but I've never heard of one that can last for seven years._

"Oda-san."

She wiped her cheeks and turned to him.

"Did you see Mitsui at any point?"

"Mitsui? Mitsui Mitsuru? From my class at the academy?"

"Yes."

"...I didn't see her while I was in the cave… but… I did in… in that grey world. I thought I was just hallucinating. Just imagining someone, anyone coming to save me."

"If you can, will you tell me about it? In as much detail as possible."

"...I'll try."

**X**

The two saw-toothed clamps were a bronze coated with layers of rust and dirt. They closed slowly, extremely slowly. Hanako's head was tilted back again the cool slab of metal beneath her stretched out form. Blood dribbled down the side of her face.

The room was mostly bare minus her body and the mechanism she was halfway stuffed into. When she blinked she expected to see it enjoying her pain, but instead she sat the equally young face of Mitsuru. She dashed towards Hanako. There was a loud slap from the impact of her hands against the clamps. She stuck her tiny fingers between the teeth to try to pry it apart. Mitsuru screeched in pain as they became caught between the sharp edges. She looked at Hanako. The desperation emanated from her person, tears filling her eyes.

_She wanted to get me out. She wanted to save me, but just like me. She was powerless. The pain was so unbearable. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to die. Seeing the look on Mitsuru's face, I knew I just couldn't do it anymore. I gave up._

**X**

"When I opened my eyes I was in the cave and it was still too dark to see. I realized there were two. Two of those things that turn into women, just draining my life through the pain. I don't know how long I was laying in there awake until you found me. The only thing that gave me a sense of time was their damn whispering. They were always somewhere around me. They kept referring to someone as 'half.' They were really upset that they… only had half of someone? I didn't understand it. And I didn't care, I was just laying there, unable to move, and hoping to die."

"You've certainly been through a lot."

A fragile smile graced her thin lips again.

"But it's over now. You are safe Oda-san."

"...yes. It's over…"

Kakashi continued to ask her questions but as time progressed he found himself more confused than ever.  _The strange women fed her just enough to keep her alive? How else could she have not passed away? Then… is she serving as some sort of chakra producer for these women? So they can disguise themselves and do as they please in Konoha? If so, then they will likely want to retrieve her… something may happen now that their hideout was discovered. I should request she be put under anbu protection for the time being._

"Oda-san, you are probably exhausted. I'm going to head out. Thank you for answering my questions." he stood.

She nodded again.

"I will be sending someone within the next few hours to watch over you."

Her eyes lit up.

"Thank you!"

_So she was worried about it._

"Well then," he bowed and excused himself.

She watched him walk out, waving her hand until the door closed behind him.

_I hope a nurse comes soon._

The sun had fallen and she became weary.  _They can't find me right away? Can they?_

_No. They can't. They're not that strong yet… I think._

She leaned back against the headboard of the bed.  _I should… get some sleep I guess…_

**X**

Kakashi's home was cold. He undressed and climbed into the shower, mulling over the events of the past week and the information he had received from the poor young woman. As they progressed he became consumed with thoughts of concern for another young woman. One that he had known personally since she was just a child. The tiny thing would find him while he was training. He was always fond of her. She was like a younger sister he never had. He would tease her, she would pout and challenge him to a lightning battle. He would play along but never use full force. She would expend all her energy, still she wore to never give up. In that sense she reminded him of Gai, but she was different. She was… a she.

He visited her in the hospital all throughout those seven years and saw her as she grew. When he discovered she was awake, he pushed down every unseemly thought. She was eight years younger than him. She was a child.

Wishful thinking was not something he tended to partake in. After all, she was a criminal now. His only task was to find her and figure out exactly what happened and why.

He walked out of the bathroom in only his boxers, planning to head straight to bed, but something was different. The air around him felt heavy and warm, not cool as he expected. A floorboard creaked and he snapped his head towards the doorway of his bedroom. His left eye remained closed as he stared out into the empty opening, but he had a feeling he would need to use it soon.

"Who's there?"

A pale hand appeared around the frame and a head peeked out.

"Mitsui?"

She stepped fully into view. Her hair was in a short brown bob, her eyes were a deep brown, but her skin was paler than he remembered. Something was wrong.  _That's not her. Mitsui isn't…_

A sheer white babydoll did little to hide a voluptuous chest and deep curves.

"Kakashi-san." her voice was different, slightly deeper and more sultry than he remembered.

"Who are you?"

She didn't answer, she only walked towards him slowly, letting him study her. His open eye wanted to remain focused on her face, but they it did wander. A sweet, floral scent engulfed his senses as she neared.

"Kakashi-san, who do you think I am?"

"You're not Mitsui."

She released a soft, attractive laugh.

"Call me Mitsuru, Kakashi-san. We've known each other for so long."

A hand rested against his chest. The digits were cold on his skin.

_She must be one of those women. I have to…_

A haze was building within him.

_This is… damn it… I was careless…_

Another hand pressed to his muscular torso and he stepped away. He backed into the wall but she went with him, letting the ice cold tips of her fingers smooth up and down along his body.

_I need to use my sharingan... it will be able to break this genjutsu._

She planted a kiss on his pectoral and he tensed. His brows knitted at the woman now pressing herself to him. He managed to open his eye.  _Wait..._  A shiver traveled down his spine from the cold feel of her. His limbs would not move.  _This isn't... a..._

"I know you've been thinking about me."

Her face was closer to his now. Her chilled lips brushed against his chin.

"I am an adult, after all. There's no harm in thinking those things."

_This isn't genjutsu._

"You're not her. Enough playing around."

"But you have been thinking about it? Haven't you?" she leaned back a bit, a more dangerous smile on her face.

He thought he saw an outline of chakra around the top of her head, but in the next moment it was gone.

"What is it you want?"

_Is it something controlling her? But it's not Mitsuru... she doesn't have body altering abilities... Mitsuru doesn't have..._

"To relieve you." she pressed her large breasts to his chest again. "All that pent up stress. It must be awful being so…"

Her teeth grazed his earlobe.

"Full."

A thigh brushed against his crotch and he withheld a groan. She was delighted that he was already fully swollen.

"There's no need to hold back."

Her hands made their way to his face. His half-lidded eyes told her all she needed to know and she said:

"I'm all yours."

She waited a moment, their breath mingled in that second and she kissed him. The heaviness in his limbs disappeared.

_I have to stop her. Subdue her and take her…_

But he found his arm wrapping around her waist and drawing her tightly against him. Their heads turned in opposite directions in a series of feverish kisses. Tongues brushed and struggled against one another while his hands smoothed over the soft, cold skin.

_This isn't right, she's…_

They parted.

"I know I'm a bit frigid, but," she took one of his hands and guided it between her legs. "I've got something nice and warm for you."

His fingers curiously moved along her slightly damp lips, then dipped within the folds. He massaged just around the entrance. Every inch of his body demanded he give in to his deepest, most repressed desire. He was immersed in the seductive stare of a woman with Mitsuru's face.

"I want you to fuck me. Hard and fast like a man should." she whispered, her fingers tugged his boxers down to release his ache from its prison.

A bolt of hunger rushed through him. He picked her up and dropped her on his bed. He lifted her legs up and apart and positioned himself, spreading his feet apart on the carpet and balancing his elbows on the bed.

"But…" her hand was behind his head.

"You  _must_  be gentle at first." the emphasis in her tone was almost sarcastic.

Her legs hooked around his waist, her mouth was against his ear again.

"It's her first time after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER.


	10. It's Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Vague/Retracted Consent, Rape

Nerves were the enemy, but she had every right to give in to them. Hanako didn’t want to sleep, it was an unpleasant concept. But most of all, she didn’t want it to be dark. She begged the nurse to keep the light on as she left and she complied with a pitying smile. Kakashi had promised to leave someone to watch her, but the person had yet to arrive. Perhaps it was irrationality, but she wanted the person to be in the patient room, rather than stand outside the door. However, she expected that they would come introduce themselves.

She stared at the clock. I _t’s only nine p.m. I have to make it to five maybe six a.m. before I can be sure. Please come soon. Please._

She bunched the sheets up in her lap. She was exhausted and wanted to stretch out in the comfortable bed, but she would be vulnerable.

_Kakashi-san seemed really concerned about… Mitsui-san. Did something similar happened to her as well? Is that why she showed up in that world? Was she also trying to fight all those monsters? Did we cross paths? Maybe… maybe once I get out I can talk to her… but… The way Kakashi-san was talking about her it made it seem like…_

The light shut off.

Her skin became cold with fear, every hair stood on end. _No. No. No. No._

She shut her eyes and curled into a tight ball.

_They’re coming._

Her hands gripped her thin hair and tugged.

_Please no. Please._

She heard movement, but it was muffled. There was an extended silence. However, she knew better. She kept her eyes shut and her body close. _Just wait a second, wait a second, then hit the button the nurses told you about. They’ll send someone quickly and everything will be okay._

She took in a deep breath and looked up. There was nothing in the room.

_Maybe I’m imagining things. Maybe I was in there for so long…_

A soft tap sound came from her right. Reflexively she turned and saw a hand patting the window, from the outside.

_This is the second floor._

She grabbed the red button.

“Open it.”

She knew that voice. Just as her thumb was hitting the button, she looked again. Just over the edge of the windowpane were her own eyes staring back at her.

**X**

**_His fingers curiously moved along her slightly damp lips…_ **

_I feel weird. This isn’t…_ A strange warmth was developing in her.

**_...then dipped within the folds._ **

Her legs buckled and she dropped to her knees. _What the hell is this feeling? It’s weird. It’s so weird…_ A glaze had set over her brown eyes and her lips were parted to release weak, shallow pants.

“Can you walk?” Itachi asked.

**_He massaged just around the entrance._ **

She shook her head and shuddered… _Everything feels so weird. And… It’s so hot. My body feels so hot…_ A flurry of sensations cascaded through her shivering limbs…

**_“I want you to fuck me. Hard and fast like a man should.” she whispered, her fingers tugged his boxers down to release his ache from its prison. A bolt of hunger rushed through him. He picked her up and dropped her on his bed… he positioned himself…_ **

Her hands squeezed her still tremoring thighs.

“It’s… sort of like… something… is…”

**_“But, you must be gentle at first…” Her legs hooked around his waist, her mouth was against his ear again. “It’s her first time after all.”_ **

**_“What?” Her legs tightened around him, forcing him to plunge deep into the warm walls._ **

She yelped and grabbed onto his sleeve.

“It hurts.”

**_Kakashi released a low grunt, his eyes shutting from a sudden wave of intense sensation._ **

She was panting louder, her eyes were glossy again. Itachi placed a hand against her forehead. _She’s sweating more. Perhaps it actually is a fever?_

“But it…”

Her hands reached up to cup his face and he stiffened. Itachi did not move as her face leaned closer to his.

**_It was too much not to indulge. Immediately his hips started to buck._ **

“It feels really good.” she moaned softly. Itachi’s blood rushed downward. She took hold of his hair and closed the space. He was able to stop her just before their mouths met.

“What are you doing?”

“I-I don’t know.” she was trembling and squirming.

“Oi.” Kisame’s voice came from a short ways away. “If you two are going to have relations, could you at least keep it down? Or go somewhere where I can’t hear it?”

_Relations?_

Itachi was becoming impatient with this situation. He was not going to have sex with this woman. She was only a piece of luggage that they had come across by coincidence, that was too weak to be of any real use, but was strange and had some unmeasurable form of political value. She was not a woman that he cared about, or so he tried to convince himself.

“Itachi.” his name was moaned so softly.

_Damn it._

He picked her up. _I don’t know what is happening to her, but whatever it is I’m sure there is some logical explanation._ He carried her through the trees until he thought he was far enough. Kisame could take care of himself, he was not concerned.

“Now, can you explain exactly what you’re feeling?”

He set her back down on a patch of grass.

“Uh… it…” she gasped and gripped his shirt again.

 _The way that she’s moving…_ Her eyelids were fluttering. _It does seem like she’s in the throes of…_

“Ah!” she arched and convulsed.

Her body was wrought with shivers.

“You haven’t described what’s happening.”

“L-like… something…” she tugged at him. “Something inside! And its moving back and forth!”

She descended into a series of mewls.

_I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I’ll take pain, I’ll take suffering, but not this! I can’t handle it! I don’t know how!_

Suddenly the sensation ceased. Her body was limp on the ground and she was panting loudly.

“Please be over.” she moaned.

He helped her sit up and kept his hand on her back. She was breathing hard still, leaning her shoulder against his chest.

And she screamed. She clung to him tightly, her legs jerking. Tears were running down her face, but she managed to look up at him.

“Make it stop.” she whimpered.

“How?”

“Please, anything. Please. Do anything.”

For once he had no solution. _The sensation she described is exactly…_ He glared at nothing. _This is ludicrous._

A warm mouth pressed to his and his eyes widened. She was on her knees and her hips were humping the air. He pulled back only to have her climbing on top of him.

“Mitsuru, enough.”

He put a hand on her waist to keep her from moving higher, but she was satisfied with straddling his hips. She grinded herself atop him, still gasping and moaning as she rode some invisible phallus. The image was, intriguing, to say the least.

But he had had enough.

She was thrown off him with a single, harsh shove. She landed against the ground, still writhing.

“Make it stop.” she sobbed.

He rarely expressed emotion, but the current events had stuck a nerve in the young Uchiha.

“Please…”

He turned and walked away, back towards his partner. Having that woman climb on top of him, as though that would relieve the stress in her body was infuriating. He didn’t completely understand why it infuriated him so, but the only reason that crossed his mind was something he refused to acknowledge. That the source of the intense, pleasurable sensation was not him.

**Elsewhere**

One could say he felt like an animal against the woman’s body. The tiniest touches from those delicate but cold fingertips contrasted the incalescent center he thrusted and thrusted into. The cool contact should have awoke him from his stupor, but it only served to pull him deeper and deeper into a pleasurable abyss. In other words, he felt he was going mad.

 _It’s not Mitsuru… it’s not…_ he managed to think despite the increasing euphoria. He opened his eyes and saw that face staring up at him. A naturally sensual look was present across the features. Her mouth partway open, her eyes begging for it. His head dropped. _It’s not her. It’s not her._

“Kakashi, fuck me. Fuck me hard.” her voice was high pitched.

He groaned and increased the force. _She sounds like her, but it can’t be her._

“Oh yes! Kakashi! Give it to me! Give it to me!”

His doubt was returning, but she grabbed his face and drew him into another heated kiss. The haze became solidified.  

“Mitsuru.” he moaned near her ear.

His knit brows trembled. Her fingers ran through his hair and he shuddered, pausing to catch his breath. A cold tongue outlined the shell of his ear and a low provocative moan drifted past her lips.

“Mmm, don’t stop. Show me how it’s done.”

He lifted his head to stare into her eyes, his own mouth open as he took in shallow breaths. He slipped himself out, setting his knees on the mattress and lifted her hips up. Angling just right he slammed back into her and quickly set a pace twice as fast as before.

“Yes! Like that!” she released a screech-like moan, “Fuck me like a man!”

He watched her seductive eyes that were still locked on his. Her large breasts heaved with every impact her body endured. _I shouldn’t be..._

“Yes! Yes! Fuck me Kakashi! Ram me!”

Each exclamation sent a wave of desire through him. Having a woman screaming for rough sex was something he only imagined.

“Break my pussy Kakashi! Break me!”

_This isn’t right._

His body no longer cared about the doubt that drifted in and out of his consciousness. He moved frantically, almost desperately to ease the unbearable ache that filled his body. However, the pace was something he could not maintain, not with his every sense becoming so dazed. He collapsed atop her.

“Let me on top.” she always spoke against his ear now. “I’ll give you a good show.”

He slipped an arm beneath her and lifted her body until she was suspended. Her hands hooked around his neck as he gripped her by her waist and bounced her in midair. She threw her head back to release a thrilled laugh, followed by flashy moans as he maintained the position and repetitive strokes. Again, he found himself unable to keep it up. This was not normal, his body had more endurance than this. He fell sideways onto the bed then rolled onto his back. She straddled his thighs and let her hands squeeze and massage his still swollen self. His limbs were heavy once again, his body was strangely exhausted, he couldn’t even open his left eye.

She sheathed him again, and eagerly sprung her body up and down, her hands were in her hair as she moved. The image was intoxicating. She released one exaggerated cry after another, thriving on his inability to pry his half-gaze away from her.

_I need to stop this…_

With what little strength he had he opened his left eye. He saw the woman with Mitsuru’s face still riding atop him, only there was a thick reddish-purple outline around her body.

_I was right. It’s…_

Her hips stopped.

“You saw it?” her voice was still seductive and low.

His swell did not dissipate despite his confirmation and he could only groan as she laid across him with it still buried deep between her legs.

“You are so terrible, you know.”

The fingers of her right hand walked up his chest to his shoulder.

“You just take take take.”

She rotated her hips and he grunted.

“First you took my little sisters toy.”

He tensed.

“And then…”

She lifted her head to meet his gaze.

“You take you dear ones virginity, without her permission.”

He saw more prominent bloodshot lines surrounding the now black irises.

“How awful.” she griped.

_She’s lying. She’s trying to get inside my head. I need to get her off and regain control of the sit-_

“But you know.” she sat up and rolled her hips.

His eyes shut from the feeling.

“You really know how to give it when a girl asks for it.”

He breathed heavily, his mind was still so clouded.

“I’ll forgive you,” her hand rested on his abdomen. “Just this once.”

She grinned slowly, sincerely enjoying the look of contempt in his eyes.

“You don’t want to keep going?” she pouted, hiding her teeth. “You were doing so well.”

Her hips rose up just to the tip of his length.

“Doesn’t it feel good? Don’t you like filling up this tight, young pussy?”

She dropped and he grunted.

“Don’t be boring now. Moan her name and pound me, just like you were a second ago!”

“Ne-san.”

The woman turned to her head. Kakashi turned as well.

“It’s done.”

“Hmm, but I was having so much fun.”

“I don’t know what you see in human men…” a woman with Hanako’s face glared at the confused Kakashi.

The woman with Mitsuru’s face giggled, still wiggling her hips.

“You should give it a try…” she climbed over him, finally allowing his softening manhood to slip out. “They’re so funny…”

Her digits brushed his face.

“You can see the struggle in their eyes, but they soon just give in. And then that moment where they realize they’ve made a mistake.” a bit of saliva dripped down her chin.

It splashed on his cheek and his eyelids flinched.

“It’s the best.” there was a hideous glow in her eyes.

“Ne-san, it’s going to be morning soon. We need to get you somewhere safe. You can play with him again later.”

The woman licked from his cheek to temple then whispered:

“I’ll be back.”

He could no longer keep his eyes open. As the darkness came he was left with a single thought:

_Ah… that’s what this is… a nightmare._


	11. For the Record

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND GORE

She gripped her inner thigh so tightly she thought she was going to break her own skin. Her legs were curled up but no matter what position she moved into the feeling was the same. Strange, new, something she had never felt before and didn’t completely understand. She wiped the drool from her chin and simply laid there on the dirt. But her hips were naturally rotating and writhing against the intense, repetitive, stroking sensation. _My insides feel so hot._

_He just left you there by yourself._

The thought was interrupted by a pause in the hot waves. Her eyes shut. J _ust let me pass out or something. Anything._ She was panting loudly, each moment of rest the sweetest relief to her now dazed consciousness.

She released another cry when the sensations started yet again. _It’s just too much. I can’t handle this._ Suddenly her head was being gently lifted and rested upon some kind of cloth. She opened her misty eyes to see Itachi’s face staring down at her. He dabbed her sweat with a cream colored handkerchief then placed a different one on her forehead. It was cool and damp against her burning skin.

“I-Itachi.” her voice was shaking.

He continued wiping her sweat for the next few minutes and she finally seemed to be calming down. There were a few jolts of sensation, but it soon ceased. Her mind cleared very slowly and she managed to say:

“Itachi.”

He paused from wiping the remaining beads from her neck.

“I’m sorry.” she said faintly.

His hand patted the last of her still excessively warm skin.

“It’s fine.”

He didn’t want to admit that watching her ride atop his hips had secretly thrilled him. That it caused him to imagine her doing so but without a patch of clothing on her. But he let a far more petty emotion dash out his normally calm, collected demeanor. Jealousy. However, now that he recognized it, he knew he would not allow it to win again. After all, there was no one to be jealous of. There was no competition here. If he so wished to pursue this path he only had to take his time.

“For the record.”

However he wasn’t much interested in the concept of “taking-your-time.” Her exhausted eyes landed on his dark ones. She thought she saw a glimmer in them, that became only more visible with the edge of his lip curled just slightly.

“I prefer to be on top.”

Had her face not already been flushed, it certainly would have turned a deep red just then. _O-o-o-on top of what? On top of me? Wait… what just happened? Did he just flirt with me? Is this what flirting is? He’s referencing that weird thing I did, right? Why did I climb on top of him like that, damn it._ Her heart was pounding harder than before. Her eyes were wide in shock.

“Are you alright now?”

“...I think so.”

His eyes traveled down her person and he said:

“Your legs.”

She managed to sit up, then became aware of a wet, stickiness between her thighs.

“What the hell?” she whispered.

 _Does she still not understand what she was experiencing?_ He narrowed his gaze. _If she didn’t know what menstruating is… does she know what sex is?_

“Did I piss myself?”

_She doesn’t know what sex is._

“I did, didn’t I?” she was still whispering angrily to herself. “And you just bought these for me. What the fuck?”

_That is a conversation for another time._

“You may wear my cloak. We will not be near another water source for a few days. Granted you will be uncomfortable being bare from the waist down, but I suppose it’s better than wearing wet clothes.”

_She could get an infection after all._

“...okay. Thank you.”

She shakily got to her feet and immediately peeled the shorts from her body. He was taken aback once again by her brazenness. He snatched up his cloak, turning his head away and held it out to her. _Why was she so quick to call me a pervert when we were in the land of fire, but now she doesn’t care?_

“Have some shame.” he mumbled.

“Shame? Why?” her fingers curled around the outstretched piece of clothing.

“Do you normally see women stripping their clothing in front of men without a care?”

“...I don’t see the issue. What part of that is shameful?”

He huffed while she buttoned the cloak around herself. It was just a bit too large for her, the bottom almost touched the ground, the sleeves were bulky.

“I decided to take my clothes off in front of you. It was my decision to undress. It had nothing to do with you.”

He was staring at her now.   
“There's a difference between me deciding to remove my clothing and you removing my clothing with your eyes.” she hissed.

“That’s all fine, but you realize the danger in doing that?”

She was glaring at him.

“While my partner and I may not be affected by it, any other man who catches sight may try to assault you. Do not do things that will attract those kinds of men.”

She scoffed.

“It almost sounds like you care about me.”

There was a silence and she found herself gazing at him in some awe. His brows were knitted, but he did not answer.

“...Itachi…”

“You are furniture that we are burdened with until we reach our hideout. Considering your lack of ability, you will likely be sealed until we cultivate some political noise about you. Do not try to impress your sentimentalities on me.”

He watched as her expression become filled with hurt and anger. There was a cold feeling in his chest. When suddenly there was a spark. It appeared by her temple, then formed into a lightning strike that shot out past his head and scorched the tree just behind him. In the split second before the lightning strike had materialized, he had brandished a kunai and activated his sharingan.

“You-” he tensed, ready to fight, but the look of confusion in her eyes made him pause.

She stared at her own hands.

“I-I didn’t do… how? I can barely even feel my chakra… I don’t understand.”

 _I didn’t see her form hand signals. With my sharingan it would be impossible for me not to see them._ His eyes widened slightly as he studied her chakra signature. _Why did I not notice this before?_

“How did I do that? I didn’t do that. I…”

“Your chakra.”

She looked up at him.

“It’s abnormal.” he stepped closer as though it would provide some clarity for the anomaly that he had uncovered. “It doesn’t flow through your system as it should be… it goes in opposite directions.”

“...w-what do you mean by that?”

“The blood in your veins is always flowing in one direction, yes? Because it is a system that is essentially circular. Chakra systems are the same, it circulates in the same way. But yours…”

His hand rested on her shoulder.

“Yours almost looks like it’s fighting against itself.”

“Fighting?”

“It looks like your cells are are battling one another. Almost like something is eating away at your own chakra… you said you can barely feel your own?”

She nodded:

“I haven’t felt normal in a long time, I just thought it was because I’m so physically weak, but…”

“Whatever it is that is battling your chakra is what is preventing you from gaining access to it..”

He returned the kunai to his bag finally and took his hand off her shoulder. With a blink the red in his eyes was gone.

“Your emotional reaction is what allowed your chakra to form into an attack. Meaning the invading substance is something that can you can resist, if not, something that you can overcome. But without a decent amount of stamina it would be impossible.”

She was staring at the ground now. _So there’s no way I can make myself… useful? I’ll be sealed away for sure…_

“If I recall, you were a sensor type.”

“...a poor one.”

“But you were at the top of our class in chakra control.”

She flinched. _A compliment?_

“...right after you of course.”

She was eyeing him, unsure of where he was going with this. He shifted his stance and raised his hands as though he were preparing to block a fist.

“If we build your physical stamina when you have the energy and condition your chakra control when you can’t, we can promote you as a sensor type. However, we only have two weeks. If we want a chance at keeping you relatively free, we need to start now.”

There was a cool determination in his eyes. He expected her to agree, he didn’t see how she could refuse his offer. And he was right. Part of her mind was irritated that she would have to move around in this heavy shroud, that if she kicked high enough she certainly would flash him, or that with only a few moves she would likely already want to collapse. But she didn’t care.

With every swing he easily caught, with every kick he easily blocked, she became increasingly centered. He saw the change in her eyes as she moved. He saw her focus. Even as the sweat poured down her face he saw a sense of self within her irises. For before her coma, this-the feel of muscles exerting beneath her skin, the sensation of developing and expelling bursts of energy-was all she ever knew.

**X**

He clenched her wrist rather softly. Her movements had slowed significantly, but she still forced herself to swing.

“Remember not to overtax yourself.” he was holding both arms now.

“I’m okay.” she was panting hard. “One more.”

He loosened his grip and she pitched forward. He held her wrists above her head. She was partially limp, her eyes half-closed.

“Your body has been through much today. Spend the rest of your energy meditating.”

“...okay.” she wanted to protest, but she decided he was correct.

He let her go and she fell against him. His body stiffened against the light weight.

“I’m… sorry… just… give me… one sec-”

She started to slip sideways and he caught her by her upper arm. The tiniest smile appeared on his face. _She overdid it. I guess some things never change…_

**Konoha**

There was a harsh pounding on his front door. The sound shook him to consciousness and forced a grimace across his normally calm features. His lids rose slowly for there was still a heaviness in his body. The shadows beneath his eyes were the most prominent that had ever appeared on his face.

_Was that all… a dream?_

He lifted his head to see his boxers halfway down his thighs.

_No. I need to meet with Oda-san soon and ask her more about those… women._

It took him a few moments for him to stand. He pulled up the boxers with one quick, rather forceful, motion as though he were denying the reason they were so low on his body. He tied his forehead protector and slid it into place over his left eye. Then finally made his way to the front door where a fist was still ferociously slamming.

“Oi! Kakashi! You’re in there aren’t you?”

He opened it while bracing a hand against the frame.

“So noisy.” he grumbled.

“Kakashi, whoa. You look like you just woke up from a nightmare.” commented the familiar nin standing in front of him.

“You could say something like that… can I help you?”

“We have some bad news.”

“About?”

“Oda Hanako was murdered last night.”

The nin knew by the widening of his eye that this was the first he heard of it.

“She was left under protection last night…”

“When the shinobi arrived she was already dead.”

“The scene…”

“It’s still under investigation. I was told to request your presence. You were the second to last person to see her alive…”

“Second to last?”

“Ah… well… a nurse was murdered as well… it’s very similar to…”

Kakashi was straightening.

“It’s very similar to the Mitsui Incident. They think the perpetrator was the same person…”

“I will head over now.”

“Ah, I’ll wait out here. I can fill you in on details on the way.”

**X**

The corner of the hall was sanctioned off, the patients who heard everything had been moved to another wing and were currently evaluated for trauma. The first on the scene focused on the well being of the patients and the staff who had first come across it. Kakashi arrived to find a group of nin with intense looks all staring at the door.

“Kakashi-san,” Ibiki turned to him. “Thank you for coming.”

“Ah.” he approached. “Is there a reason you are all standing outside?”

“We are waiting for the staff to bring their extra cleaning supplies. You see…” He pointed to a line of red just under the edge of the sliding. “If we open it, the blood will pour into hallway.”

“We’re they killed that close to the doorway?”

The men looked at one another cautiously.

“No, it seems… well. When the supplies arrive we will have you see for yourself.”

There was another drawn out moment of silence. It was unlike these men to be put into such a deep sullenness. As children they had all seen the end of a war.

A couple of nurses arrived holding stacks of towels and buckets of soap and water.

“Just block the entrance once we open it. We will leave you time to clean things once we complete the investigation.” Ibiki told them.

They rolled up and placed the towels at the foot of the sliding door then scurried away as though they didn’t want to see what was inside. Ibiki took the handle and slid it open. A horrid scent of blood and flesh filled the air. Kakashi stepped closer to the doorway and shut his eyes for just a second before opening them again.

Before him was a room smeared in red. There were numerous inhuman hand and footprints on the walls and ceiling. Patches of scalp with drenched hair were thrown about haphazardly. There was a mosaic of polished bones hung on the wall, but there was no sign of any internal organs no matter where the men looked. Atop the blood soaked bed was a detached head positioned as though she were simply leaning back to look at whoever it was that opened the door.


	12. On Your Own

_I should gather a few things and move back into the Jounin Standby Station._ After the previous evening, his family home no longer held that lonely charm that he had become accustomed to over the years. He was somewhat grateful that his short break was complete. He would go on missions again and he could get his mind off of all that had been happening. The investigation was going to reach another dead end, one of his pupils had abandoned the village, the other was off to train with one of the sannin, and the final one was already studying under Tsunade. There was nothing left to do but work.

He knew even before he was in sight of his home that there was something inside. _One of those women._

This time he would walk in prepared. He slid his forehead protector up and located the chakra signature through the walls of his home. He made a clone and sent him in ahead. The clone slipped a single finger through handle of his kunai and slid open the front door. When he reached the bedroom he found the woman splayed across his bed. She was biting her finger and flashing a lustful gaze. Her other hand was hiding between her thighs.

“I’ve been waiting so long.” she moaned.

She wore the same babydoll she had on the previous evening. The room was heavy and warm, but he wouldn’t let it bother him this time. She stopped writhing across his sheets and showed him a smile. He watched her rise up until she was seated with her legs hanging over the edge.

“Now don't tease me.” She laughed.

Kakashi blinked and he was standing where his clone had been. _How did-_

“You’re one of the few men to ever resist this much.” she pointed a toe at him, leaning back to accentuate her breasts through the lingerie. “With one look I’ve had men on their knees. One touch and they’re begging for me, but you…”

Her foot dropped and drew an invisible pattern on the wooden floor.

“The whole time you were fucking me you knew something was wrong.” she stood and walked towards him. “Your will didn’t dissolve.”

Her hands were against the green vest over his chest, pressing him to the wall just as she had the night before. _Why? Why can’t I move anymore?_ The kunai clattered to the floor.

“Even when you were in ecstasy, you never fully gave in.”

She rested her head against his chest.

“Even now when all your body wants is to push me on the bed and mount me,” she nuzzled against him. “You just won’t listen.”

Her hands traced along the deep lines of his muscular torso beneath the vest, applying pressure wherever she pleased. She cupped the back of his head and kissed him over the mask.

“Knowing you’re this strong. This resistant to me...”

Her eyes had that strange glow in them again. She was smiling with her lips parted. Her next words were laced with an alarming amount of bliss.

“Makes me so wet.”

There was a tiny waver in the heated air. He gripped her arm and spun her around. Her back slammed against the wall and she released a gasp of pain which descended into an aroused moan.

“What are you?” he growled, pinning her by her shoulders.

The frustration was growing. Both a frustrated desire and a frustration that he could not will his body to tie her up or overpower her completely. He felt trapped in himself. This was not normal, she couldn’t possibly be a shinobi. There was no shinobi that he knew of that could affect him this much. She had to be something else, something inhuman for him to feel this powerless against her.

“I already told you, I’m Mitsuru.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

She giggled girlishly and licked her lips.

“Ne, are you going to hold me down and force it in? Or maybe tie me up and punish me first?”

_Ignore her. She’s only trying to draw you in more than you already are. As long as I remind myself it isn’t Mitsuru, I should be okay. Just don’t let her-_

“Kakashi-san, you didn't keep your promise.”

His eyes widened.

**X**

_The last time I saw her she was excited to show me just how much chakra she could gather. She was a tiny girl both thin and short. The eleven-year-old that rushed to me that late afternoon was a girl I viewed rather fondly. Her smile was bright. and she was eager, she would be an awful shinobi. I had told her many times to quit, but she resisted. Each time she said_ :

“I can’t, my father would be disappointed!”

_My young adult self was unimpressed by the burst of lightning that appeared in her hand._

By her age I was capable of ten times as much, but she gasped in surprise and grinned at me.

“See! I can almost do it!”

“I wouldn't say almost, but you're on your way.”

She pouted up at me.

“Kakashi-san don't bully me!”

I chuckled and placed a hand atop her brown head.

“So will you please, next time you come back, will you show me raikiri again? Please?”

“I don't think you're there yet.”

“Please? I'll try really hard.”

“Hmm, if you can hold the chakra for three seconds,” I held up three fingers. “Then I will consider it.”

“I will! I promise!”

I put my hand on my hip.

“Kakashi-san, you promise too!”

“Hai, hai.”

That was last time I spoke to her as a child.

**X**

“How long are you going to make me wait?”

“What have you done with Mitsuru?”

She rolled her eyes. The heavy feeling intensified and his knees bent an inch. _What? Why is it suddenly harder to stand? What trick is she using?_

“You answer my questions first,” she slipped from his weakening grip and put both hands on his face. “Then I’ll think about answering yours.”

He couldn’t control his hands as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall, using his lower body to keep her balanced. She released a smug hum.

“You’re rock hard and you still want to fight?” She kissed his ear. “What a fine man.”

He kept his eyes forward, trying to keep his mind clear of her advances. Yet, his body moved on its own. He backed up, still carrying her against him, until the back of his legs hit the mattress. He sat on the bed with her straddling his thighs.

“Now then.” she rested her elbows on his shoulders. “Let’s have a nice, thorough chat.”

She paused to tug down the edge of his mask. She teased the beauty mark under his lip with her tongue. There was shiver down his spine.

“You can tell me where she is, can’t you The other half. She’s gone away. You’ve been searching for her, haven’t you?”

He remained silent, his glare harsh and unrelenting. The woman threw her head back, hooking her fingers behind his neck, and released a loud annoyed groan.

“What an ugly face!”

 _She’s just talking in riddles. She’s deliberately trying to frustrate me, so I’ll drop my guard and she can…_ Suddenly there was a hand on his crotch and he grunted. She massaged the bulge with just the tips of her fingers.

“You can really stay hard for a long time.”

 _If I concentrate enough, I should be able to break her hold._ She slipped her hand beneath the hem of his khaki’s and he shut his eyes. _Just focus. Ignore her._ Her cool cheek rested against his.

“Don’t you want to fuck me again? You don’t have to think about anything else.” she cupped his face smiling devilishly at the glaze starting to form in his eye. “Isn’t it wonderful? Fucking someone with the same face? You don’t have to use only your hand anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter how you try to spin this. It’s not happening”

She laughed:

“You really are the best. You’ll do just fine”

He grit his teeth when a cool, slimey tongue licked from his neck to his ear.

“All I need now is the other half.”

She gripped his hair and molded her mouth against his. His hands, which had been resting on her bare thighs suddenly became full of energy. He threw her off of him. She landed on the ground with almost no sound.

“Mmm, please continue. I like it rough.” she spread her legs apart and moaned wantonly.

 _Now._ Just as he was making a move to grab her, in the blink of an eye she was gone.

“Unless we find someone better.” her voice came from behind him.

He spun and leapt back. Distance was all he needed to figure out a way to overwhelm the strange woman crouching on his bed. With his sharingan he could see the reddish-purple chakra whipping around her.

“What are you?” he repeated.

“If I were to describe it using your language… the best possible word would be oni.”

_Oni?_

“I wanted to keep playing with you… but it seems that’ll be impossible in my current state.”

She placed her feet on the floor one at a time, bending her head forward to hide her face. She straightened slowly:

“Once my little sister brings back the other half. We can have our last playdate.”

Her long claw-like digits caressed the jagged teeth of her large smile.

“Ahhh, I’m looking forward to savoring every bit of you.”

**Elsewhere**

Of course she fell behind, they were two extremely able men in their peak physical condition while she was just starting to regain normal amounts of muscle mass, but she persevered. Kisame had grown tired of only walking, he had argued that it would take three weeks if they only walked, but the meeting was scheduled in two. They had to make haste. Despite the pain, for once she could say she felt happy. Kisame was ahead. Itachi was going slightly slower than his usual pace, every few minutes he would turn his head to make sure she was not too far behind. Mitsuru focused her energy, each leap made her legs wobble, but she kept moving.

A weak branch snapped beneath her and she plummeted. She slammed against the ground face first, but was on her feet and up again in moments. It must have been due to her focus that she didn’t notice the fast-approaching presence, but Itachi did.

“On your right.” he said.

“Huh?”

Her neck suddenly snapped to the side and she was falling again. She didn’t feel it when she hit the ground for the sensation of teeth sinking into the side of her face was more apparent. The sight in her right eye was gone and a horrid high-pitch muttering became audible. She felt the teeth again, this time deeper into her flesh and scratching against the bone.

_Did… what…_

She was too stunned to move.

“Mitsuru.”

Itachi’s sharingan saw the outline of a tiny animal with claws lodged into the young woman's throat and face. Another piece of her skin was ripped from her face. _If I attack it, will it harm it or will it go through and hit her? Why isn’t she fighting it?_ He quickly pulled two shuriken from his pouch and threw them with precise aim. They took on a sharp curve but just as he thought they passed through the outline with no effect. _Then she’s the only one that can fight it? What sort of creature…_

He bounded from tree trunk to tree trunk until he reached the ground, just a few feet away from her.

“Mitsuru.” he repeated her name.

He did not wince at the sight of yet another piece of her cheek being torn away.

“There is nothing I can do to help. You must overcome this on your own.”

Her unharmed eye opened very slowly then looked up at his stoic face. There was no pleading in her gaze, no fear, her reaction was like she had felt it a million times before. Her hand shot up and grabbed the outline by the neck. Her fingers closed around it and the reddish-purple burst, shooting in all directions. She sat up the slowly, her hand covering the large holes in her flesh.

“Are you coming?”

“Yes.”


	13. Involuntary Connection

The air in the room dispersed. Kakashi dropped to his knees and bent his head in exhaustion.

Enemy shinobi did not scare him. War did not frighten him though he detested it. There was nothing this man could say terrified him. Ninja did not experience fear. It was a feeling they had to do away with early on in their training. Pain, torture, life and death were the bricks that paved the shinobi’s path.

Even now he would not say he was frightened. He was not scared of the strange person that had inhabited his room and exercised an immense control over him. She was simply another obstacle to overcome, another enemy to battle.

But he was shaken.

Enough so that he planned to take the time between missions to study the local folklore.

He undressed in the bathroom and bathed himself under a cold stream of water. His half lidded gaze stayed on the ceiling as it ran over his pale skin.

_Mitsuru. I’m sorry. If something is controlling your body. I’m sorry._

He dipped his head beneath the running water and braced his hands against the tiled wall.

I’ll find a way to get you out of this, I promise.

**Eleven Days Later**

The sound of Itachi catching every punch and every kick echoed through the the trees. They were only a couple of days away now and they had taken every opportunity to practice her extremely weak taijutsu. When she had meditated the few times she could she again told him that she could feel nothing. When her body was moving she described it as suddenly feeling free and she managed to produce a tiny electric shockwave from her person in the middle of the spar. It dissipated before gaining any real distance, but she grinned from ear to ear, looking down at her small, reddened hands. _Finally. Something._

“This won’t be enough.”

“What the hell did you expect in two weeks?”

“Try directing the lightning downwards into the earth. See if you can pick up anything.”

She took a deep breath to calm her racing pulse, then made the proper handsigns. The spark ricocheted around her legs then flickered above the patch of dirt beneath her sandals. A blurry image came into her mind for only a split second.

“It’s really faint.” she said and opened her eyes. “It’s unclear. I can’t see anything.”

“I thought so.”

“Then there’s no need to keep this up?” Kisame called from up in a nearby tree.

His irritation rose with every short period of sleep that was interrupted with the sounds of blows and blocks.

“You have a little more time.” Itachi spoke without tearing his eyes from hers.

“I’ll keep practicing, but…” she looked away.

“Are you giving up?”

She detested that phrase. It made her clench her fists tight against her sides. But suddenly they were both silent and they turned their heads at the same time. Kisame wasn’t adjusted to the strange way both of the younger people would be staring in the same direction. And no matter how much he gazed and squinted he couldn't see what they seemed to be studying. He was just about fed up with their antics so he finally asked:

“What are you two looking at?”

They remained as they were. He thought for a second he would be ignored but his partner answered:

“A monster.”

Itachi of course could only see its outline but it was enough for him to understand that it was not human. He could make out an absurdly tall shape with what looked like a wide set of shoulders that gradually became narrower until about its middle where the thin, supposedly, legs of the creature began. But that portion of its body was long as well. The figure swayed as though it were drunk. He wondered if it hadn’t spotted her yet, because she was obviously its target. It suddenly snapped its spine and it was bent horizontally by the waist.

He was unaffected by this because he could not see its features, but with a single sideways glance he saw just how disgusted Mitsuru was. Her grimace was so strong her teeth were showing.

“I hate this one.” She whispered.

“You’ve seen these things before?”

“In that nightmare, during my coma... yes.”

“Then you know how to fight it?”

“...in a sense. It’ll be easier, since I have a weapon.”

He had given her a kunai a few days ago and told her to keep it. She had thanked him but surprisingly did not ask for anything else. He assumed blunt trauma was enough to kill these things that kept appearing. Though he had thought she would ask for more than a single kunai.

“You didn't  have a weapon in your dream? You couldn't conjure one up?”

“I made spears out of rotting wood, but there were never any real weapons.”

With every minute detail he received about her nightmarish coma he became increasingly curious as to what happened within it.

“Then how do you defeat this one?”

“It’ll get upright.”

Just as she said it the outline straightened.

“Then it’ll go to the opposite side, go upright again, then it will run at you.” She continued.

They waited another moment and it did just that. She ran towards it as well, using the momentum she slid across the grass and swept its long legs. It tumbled to the ground and she was upon it, slamming the kunai into its skull. The colors burst and disappeared.

“It's more ugly looking than anything” She walked back to Itachi. “Now if you see something that looks like a bat or a big man with a weapon or a spider woman. Then I might be in some trouble.”

She let out a soft laugh and smiled up at him.

“Or a little girl... especially that. That was the worst to be honest.”

To Kisame, everything he just heard was complete nonsense. What he just watched was complete nonsense and it infuriated him to think his partner was going along with it. Mitsuru curled her fingers around the kunai handle for a moment, enjoying the weight of the object with an eccentric little nod, then returned it to the designated pocket in her shorts.

“I’m coming.” she warned the dark haired male who had been watching her rather closely.

He did not flinch as swings came at him again, this time he redirected her arm. He grasped her wrist, put a palm against her abdomen and flipped her through the air. He cushioned her landing with his foot then released her. She groaned in annoyance:

“I shouldn’t have warned you.”

 _Not that it would have mattered_ , she thought. She got to her feet again and was after him. He tripped her this time and she hit the ground with a loud solid thud.

Kisame chuckled.

“You leave far too many openings.”

Itachi had said it before, but this time she was angered by it. Once again she was up and after the Uchiha, but he quickly took her arm and pinned it to the small of her back.

“You have to anticipate how I will defend myself and adjust accordingly.”

She squirmed and he tightened his grip.

“Devise a way to break my hold. What are the weak points? Where would the assailant leave himself unguarded?”

She grit her teeth and tried to wrestle out of his grip again.

“Struggling against the hold itself isn’t going to do anything. They will only hold tighter, like so.” his fingers dug harder into her.

“Think quickly, what could you do in this situation?”

Her mind wasn’t working. Anger was clouding out every thought that could potentially aid her. She thrashed again and he finally let go. She landed on all fours panting in frustration.

“Were you not immortal you would have been killed.” he stated simply.

The thin woman released a sound similar to a roar and spun. She launched herself at him only to have her wrist caught again. He saw a change in her eyes. The fingers attached to her held wrist fanned out and clutched at his own wrist, her feet skidded to a solid halt. She yanked him towards her with all her might and let her other clenched hand curve towards his oncoming face. He ducked his head, cupped her elbow, and flipped her once again through the air.

Her right foot braced against his breastbone just enough to allow her to throw a kick, with her left, towards his focused expression. But once more he moved of the way. He released both her arms, in a flash grasped both her ankles, and whipped her forward. Her body went flying a few feet then came down onto the ground. She was panting hard, her limbs spread eagle across the dry forest floor.

“Better.” he said.

She lifted her head just a bit and stared at him.

“But not good enough. Get up.”

Her head dropped back. Her breathing was still loud. _Why is he doing this anyway?_ Her thoughts returned once her breathing slowed. _Why is he taking all this time to help me train? Why the hell does he care that I might be sealed away?_ She blinked. _Care? Does he care about me? Don’t be ridiculous. Why would he care about someone he knew so long ago? The Itachi I remember…_ Her gaze traveled to him slowly. _The Itachi I remember was really kind despite being so quiet and away from everyone else. The way he treated everyone was like… was just like this I suppose. He didn’t like to be bothered, but he was just…_

_But he doesn’t seem like the Itachi I know. He’s quieter and somehow colder._

She sat up and stretched her hands towards her toes, groaning aloud at the feeling.

_It feels like, he’s grown up of course, but there’s something else. Like something else happened that made him that way. Maybe I should ask him… maybe not about that, but maybe I should ask more about this organization and the people who are apart of it. Why are they gathered together apart from the villages? And what’s with those marks on their forehead protectors?_

“Again?”

“Yes.”

Kisame leapt down from the tree and went in search of a decent napping place. The two sparring people did not look at him. They were consumed with one another once again. Something about the way he’d grab her tightly without causing any harm made her want to hit harder. Every moment his fingers touched the warm, soft skin a desire deep within his body intensified.

However, Itachi wasn’t going to indulge the urges that sprung every time they physically interacted. There were other, far more important things on his mind. It wasn’t until the sun was setting that they decide to take a break. It was then Mitsuru asked:

“So what is this organization? The one you’re apart of.”

“The Akatsuki.”

“What’s its purpose? What do you all spend your time doing?”

“That will be told to you if our leader deems it necessary.”

“Oh… well… then why did you join them? The last time I saw you, you were being inducted into anbu in Konoha.”

He suddenly seemed to be staring down at her, in almost a glare.

“It’s none of your business.”

Her brows knit.

“What? Why are you angry?”

“Don’t pry into things that do not concern you.”

“Why do I have to answer all of your questions but you refuse to answer mine?” her eyes flashed with anger.

“You are in no position to make demands.” he turned from her.

“Look at me when I’m talking to-” in her rage she grasped his forearm.

An involuntary spark traveled down her arm. He tensed from the sudden sharp pain in his limb, but shut his eyes when images of his past were forced through his consciousness. It only lasted a moment, then he turned back to Mitsuru. She stepped back from him. Her hand was frozen mid air, her eyes were wide in complete shock. He thought it odd that she was so surprised by her accidental manifestation of chakra because it had happened many times in the past few days. As he studied the horror on her face he quickly realized the reason.

“Y-you…” she whispered.

“How much did you see?” his tone darkened.

She clasped her own hand against her chest and looked down. He came closer and repeated:

“How much did you see?”

He backed her against a narrow tree trunk and put a hand against it just beside her shoulder.

“How much. Did you see?” he asked a final time, his sharingan was activated.

Her lips parted and she looked up. Seeing his visual jutsu ready she averted her eyes again. He saw a tear start down her cheek.

“E-everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback welcome and appreciated!


	14. Faces

I’d been injected with the young adult life of another. It felt strange. The endless silent contemplation that hid a stress and strain that would bring the average person to their knees. There were the frustrations he expressed against those who valued blood before the world. The helplessness and horror of watching your closest friend perish followed by a fiery pain in my eyes. Then it was as though the sword that took those lives was in my hand, as though the tears that expressed the pain of such a task ran down my face.

But looking back at the one he loved most who had come roaring after him is what made the tear roll down my cheek.

The same boy I knew had become a man and trudged through his own nightmare without confiding in another. He had done horrible things, caused the one he loved most to experience a trauma that would guide him his entire life. Everything was so absurdly distinct, the sensations were so horribly definite, but the reason he reinforced his brother’s pain was not obvious to my mind. But I couldn’t dwell on it for long, because something was swelling in my chest. It was unbearably tight so suddenly.

Physical pain and torture were absolutely nothing to me. It was something I could endure. As these few weeks past I became acutely aware of my lack of self. I felt distant from it all. Anger was the only feeling I was sure of. Every chance I had to express the anger I held towards those monsters only relieved me somewhat.

This emotional suffering was not something I could handle. Not so much at once.

Salty droplets trickled down my face when I blinked.

“It’s too sad.” I breathed.

He was watching me so closely. His red gaze was so piercing it was a miracle that I did not melt beneath it.

The weakest sob was wrought out my being. There was such a deep sensation of falling. My center felt as though it were collapsing under the weight of these emotions.

Is this how he always feels?

I managed to meet that stare once again. Slowly. I didn’t want to snap back into a lock, because if I did I would crumble.

“I…” my voice faded on the first syllable of his name.

“Everything?” he repeated my answer.

My legs trembled once and I was slinking against the tree trunk to the ground.

“Too much.” I muttered.

He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me back up.

“What do you mean by everything?”

“I’m sorry.”

It was the last thing I could muster before my body went limp. Everything was blurry.

The images were still whirling in my head. Too many. Far too much. Eighteen years. Eighteen years of life in only a moment. Why was everything so vivid? Why is it when I tried to see the world around me I could only get splotchy messes but when I connected to him everything was clear?

When I shut my eyes I see the scenes etched in perfect detail into my retinas. When I open them I see his face beneath a fog.

But I don’t want to close my eyes. It’s too damn much.

“Mitsuru.”

His voice sounded far away. I kept my lids open halfway. They fluttered as though it were some sort of serious exertion, but it was only an uncontrollable twitch. The whirlwind was slowing. So many voices I had never heard before were in my head. Speaking to me… no to him. They were talking to him. These are his memories. This is his life.

Make it stop. I don’t want to see this.

_Find her quickly._

The voice that I will never forget cut through the images cleanly.

_She’s very far. You know this._

_Find her. Quickly._

_I understand Ne-san. I will try._

_If you hadn’t overshot it she wouldn’t have gotten so far away._

_I’m sorry. I didn’t have complete control then. It was all I could do._

_I don’t want your excuses. Just find her._

_I will leave tonight. But you need to rest. Stop wasting your energy on that man._

_I have enough for one more, though it will take some time._

_He will put up a fight._

_That’s part of the fun. But before you go, will you do something for me?_

I blinked hard to find I was still being pinned to the tree by Itachi. By both arms now.

“Mitsuru.”

Every blink cleared my vision just a bit. It was enough though to see some of the features of his face.

“Properly explain to me. How much did you see?”

I took in a few heavy breaths.

“Everything. I can’t make it any clearer.”

He squeezed my shoulders. He looked frustrated. I didn’t know what else to tell him. Should I start describing all that I saw? All that I can still see? But it’s so much.

“Did you see…” he paused.

He was struggling. He didn’t want to tell me anything, just in case “everything” didn’t include “everything.”

“Yes. Whatever you are going to ask. The answer is yes.” I huffed.

Beads of sweat were dripping off my chin. I was so exhausted now. Every muscle was sore. As though I’d gone through that short period of training ten, twenty, a hundred times over.

He released me and I crumpled to the ground. I could barely hold myself up. This heaviness could have mimicked those months I had spent barely moving in the hospital, but the strain of physical therapy felt nothing like this.

He turned away from me. He grabbed his cloak that he had hung over a branch on another tree, glancing back at me one more time, he went in search of Kisame.

He must know I can’t fucking move.

I was alone with my thoughts and eighteen years of his, but all I could think of was the conversation I overheard between those things.

**X**

He felt his partner's presence nearing and he opened a single eye. By the expression on the young Uchihas face, he knew that something unpleasant had occurred between the two in his absence.

“Lovers quarrel?”

Itachi ignored him:

“Kisame. Mitsuru cannot move. Since you are rested, you can carry her.”

“Does Pein really have to meet her face to face to determine how useless she is? This all seems like a lot of work for nothing.”

“The last we spoke with him, he seemed interested in her potential political power in addition to wanting to see her immortality for himself.”

“There are plenty of immortals. One zonbi-conbi is enough, don’t you think?”

Itachi was sliding on his cloak. He made a sort of reluctant expression and said:

“She has another power.”

“Oh, seeing monsters? Sounds useful.”

Itachi brushed his sarcasm aside.

“She can extract information from a person using her lighting.”

Kisame fixed on his partner, his features tensing into a more serious pose.

“It’s not a full-fledged jutsu. It could have been a fluke.” Itachi continued.

“Did she tell you this herself? With who? When?”

Itachi finished buttoning his coat.

“Just now. With me.”

Kisame stood and followed him back towards the woman who was half-asleep against a tree.

“How do you know? Did you ask her to confirm? If it’s not a jutsu how did it take?”

“My memories were forcibly dragged through my mind in order from the earliest to today. Immediately after she made the connection I asked her what she saw. She was too exhausted to say much, but I believe she saw quite a bit. As for it not being a jutsu, her chakra is in a chaotic state. She has an average amount for a kunoichi, but it’s movement is abnormal and it doesn’t respond to her attempts to control it. It’s release seems to coincide with sudden bursts of emotion but even then it seems the odds of it working are slim.”

Kisame slung the semi-conscious woman over his shoulder.

“So its…”

“It’s an extremely flawed and fickle power, but it could prove invaluable.”

**X**

Their footsteps were in sync. I could hear them quite clearly. It must have only been a few hours, but I had just regained some level of consciousness. Things were less blurry and I had a tiny amount of strength, but I wasn’t going to tell Kisame that. Granted my position wasn’t the most comfortable, it was much more pleasant than the idea of stumbling around behind them. I would definitely run into a tree.

I could feel Itachi glancing at me. He must have noticed I’m awake, but I did my best to remain limp. I listened to the sound of their sandals crushing patch after patch of grass. It was surprisingly soothing. As long as I focused on that I wouldn’t have to think about that of these things in my head. I’m surprised I didn’t have a headache.

One. Two. One. Two.

Do they normally sync up like this when they walk? That must mean Kisame slows down so Itachi doesn’t have to walk quickly to catch up to him. Why I am thinking about this so much? Who analyzes walking patterns?

One. Two. One. Two.

He adjusted me on his shoulder.

One. Two. One. Two.

His hand was moved so he was holding me by both of my thighs. Part of me wanted to tell him it was too close to my bottom, but then he would just throw me on the floor. Maybe I should walk with them.

One. Two-and?

My head snapped up and I patted Kisame’s shoulder.

“What?”

Itachi spun towards it. Rapid footsteps came rushing towards us.

“Put me down!”

“What now?”

“Put me-”

**In Konoha**

Early that day he had spoken to Ibiki about the investigation of Oda Hanako’s murder and was informed that they hadn’t recovered any DNA aside from the two victims. He didn’t enjoy hearing that once they had taken down the bones from the wall that they had trouble separating Hanako’s from the nurses. One detail that had remained with him as he walked to the library was the absence of the nurses head.

Kakashi hesitated when he entered the building. The woman shuffling papers at the front desk looked approachable enough, but he wasn’t quite sure how to word his inquiry. _Where is your section on female demons? That have the power to seduce men? Does Konoha have any history on these types of demons? Is there some sort of jutsu to dispel them?_

He willed himself over and asked:

“Where would I find books on local mythology?”

The woman motioned towards the far end of the room:

“Mythology is in section H, past ghosts and demons.”

“Thank you.” _Perfect._

He perused the aisle very calmly. As he read the titles he came across an encyclopedia of mythical creatures. The grey haired man wasn’t sure that being here was going to help him. He didn’t believe that any of these books would just happened to contain information on the woman, but he slipped the thick book off the shelf and flipped it open. He read entry at the top of the right of the page.

“Futakuchi-onna.” he mumbled.

_A woman who is said to have two mouths. She has a face like a normal woman, but has a second one hiding beneath her hair. Sightings of her vary from region to region, some claiming she has two mouths and others that she only has one on the back of her head._

_Do people actually believe this?_

He flipped through again.

“Ashinaga-jin.”

 _See also Tenaga-jin, a human with extremely long legs or extremely long arms, respectively. That certainly would be strange to see. I suppose if a story is passed around enough people will start to believe it._ He turned the page a few times.

“Hyosube.”

_Extremely dangerous… feed them eggplant, but don’t look at them. If you look at them they will give you a fever. My, these yokai are quite interesting. It’s almost funny._

“Jorogumo… a spider woman… Kijo… a female demon?”

He heard a soft giggle and looked up. Through the stacks of books he could see a woman with her head bent. _She must be reading something amusing._ He snapped the book shut with one hand and slipped it back into the empty spot. _This is going to get me nowhere. I should head back anyway. I will be getting a new mission soon._

Just as he was going to pass an aisle he heard the sound of giggling again. To his left was a young woman whose face was buried in a large book. Something made him pause. Her weak giggles made him recall the whimpering of a child. It was then he spotted a bit of blood trickling down her neck.

“Excuse me.”

It was not in his nature to meddle, but the idea that there was someone in distress was enough to make him approach her. After all, it was still daylight and those women never came to him in public.

“Ma’am, are you alright?”

“Kakashi-san.”

_That voice._

His hand was already in his pouch, gripping a kunai.

“Don’t make a fuss, we’re in a library.” The book was shifted only slightly away as she started to turn to him.

Fear wasn’t the emotion. He was genuinely horrified when the book dropped to the floor.

“Ne-san wanted me to ask you a question before I left.”

His foot shifted back. He was still taking in the image of bloody skin pulled tight over skin.

“Do you like my new face?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question for my readers: Is the switching between first and third person perspectives a bit troublesome at times? I've been thinking of changing it to one or the other. If I did so, is there a perspective that you prefer more than the other?


	15. Taste

Watching those black irises through the empty sockets of her strange mask made of human skin was unnerving, but he drew on his weapon. Even if the one she called her older sister could cast some strange spell, this fake Oda Hanako had no such power over him. 

“If you attack me, I will eat everyone here.”

_ Could she do such a thing? I should be able to stop her…  _ He recalled the image of Hanako’s hospital room and the gore that lined the walls. There were multiple people in this library. He wouldn’t be able to get each of them somewhere safe no matter how fast he moved. 

_ I’d have to do it in one shot with chidori. _

“That would probably kill me. Good plan.” she released a soft, feminine laugh.

_ There’s no possibility that she can hear my thoughts. She’s made a correct assumption that I’m devising ways to overwhelm her and is only speaking to try to... _

A large black tongue appeared out of from the sagging set of lips, it curled around slowly then retreated back. She was trying to frighten him, to shake him in some way similar to the one with Mitsuru’s face, but she wasn’t exactly the same type of creature. He could tell by her presence. The air around her was not heavy and warm, created to put the effected into a pleasant daze, but it was cold and empty. It was meant to chill to the bone. Her killing intent was present, sharp and biting like frozen needles across every inch of his skin. 

His hand slipped from the pouch as a feint. He could summon his ninken to restrain her, but they would be in danger. He did not know how powerful this one was. 

“If you let me go, no one will be harmed.”

_ She’s playing with me. She's pretending to be helpless. Her body language tells she's not at all concerned which means she's confident that she can do harm to me or to the civilians here. The best course of action…  _

“I'm not very hungry, so I will only eat if I  _ have _ to.”

“What is it you want?” He asked. 

As long as he maintained a conversation he may be able to delay any violence.

“Ne-san wanted me to tell you, she won't be visiting you for awhile.”

He watched the woman with a human mask look away with a sudden air of disinterest. 

“She needs to gather her strength. She's not complete you know, like me.”

_ Could I get more information out of this one? Her speech patterns are less riddle-like than the others. _

“What do you mean by complete? Why is she only half?”

She slowly looked at him. 

“Curious?”

There was a flash of danger in her wide eyes. She stepped closer to him and he tensed, his hand was back in his tool bag. The sound of light footsteps was behind him and he started to turn. A hand grasped his vest.

“Don't unveil me.” 

That face much closer brought on the scent of rotting flesh.

“Kakashi-sensei.”

_ Sakura? Why now? _

A book fell behind the young girl and she jumped in surprise. She became preoccupied with picking it up and returning it to the shelf. Kakashi took the opportunity to face her, hiding the strange young woman behind his back. 

“Sakura, what brings you here?”

“Tsunade-sama sent me here to find her a book. What are you doing here Kakashi-sensei? Is this your day off?” She glanced at the titles on her left. “Do you like ghost stories?”

“Sometimes… nothing like a good ghost story.” 

Sakura laughed nervously:

“Not for me. I can't handle things like ghosts. Something you can't touch but can touch you? That's just terrifying.”

“Ah…”

Behind him came snickering, high pitched and girlish. Sakura tilted to look behind him.

“Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you were with someone.”

He snapped his head, but was slightly relieved to see her human skin mask was gone and she had assumed Hanako’s face again. Her wrist was pressed to her mouth to muffle her increasing laughter.

“Oh don't mind me.” She giggled, turning away and waving a thin hand, “Continue your conversation.”

“Kakashi-sensei is she someone you know?”

“...I suppose.”

This was the point in a normal situation he would introduce his acquaintance to his student, but he did not want to do so. Sakura also seemed to be waiting to be introduced. Instead he stewed in the awkward aura. He would not allow this woman shaped creature to target his student. 

“Oda Hanako. It's nice to meet you.” 

She was walking towards the pink haired girl while raising her palm for a shake. Sakura was surprised by this but raised her hand to take it anyway. Kakashi grabbed Oda’s arm and tugged her back. He put his other hand on Sakura's narrow shoulder and started to move her away.

“Why don't we find that book? You don't want to keep Tsunade-sama waiting.”

“Huh, oh, sure. It was nice meeting you.” Sakura allowed herself to be pushed down the aisle. She managed a single look back. 

The pale woman was watching her with a strangely amused expression. Just as she was moving out of sight she thought she saw her lips curl into a creepy smile. 

“Sakura.” His voice was low enough to be a whisper. “Don't panic and do what I ask. I need you to speak to the person at the front desk and evacuate this building. At the very least make sure they stay away from the section we were in. Do you understand?”

She wanted to ask him why, but recalling that woman's strange smile and the odd way he was acting, she trusted him. She nodded her head and speed walked away when he let go of her shoulders. 

In moments he was back to the aisle filled with ghost novels. Part of him assumed she would have made her escape in that interval, but she remained in the aisle flipping through a large book.

“Ne, Kakashi.” She spoke without looking up. “Who was that? A family friend?”

He slipped his forehead protector up to reveal his sharingan. The reddish-purple chakra was immobile, almost a solid mass in the form of a thin female.

“How old is she, say twelve, thirteen?” 

Kakashi focused his chakra towards his hand. He would incapacitate her with chidori and take her in for interrogation. 

“Her skin looked so soft and supple,” her voice was changing. “So young…”

“So tasty looking~”

There was that glow again. He thought she would dodge, dissipate, anything to avoid his strike but he found his arm run through a narrow chest. Blood poured over his forearm, bolts of electricity flickered in all directions behind her, the only sound was the chirping of his jutsu. But she parted her lips and whispered, in a voice he hadn't heard in so long:

“Kakashi.”

_ Rin?  _

He looked at her face, his eyes widening in horror. She grabbed his sleeve and leaned forward making him reel back. 

“Next time,” in the same voice she spoke. “You must introduce me properly.”

Her grip was unnaturally strong, but he was more stunned by the familiar face that was coming closer and closer to his. 

“Ne-san likes the flavor of men but...” 

Rin’s face contorted. Sharp teeth amassed, wide excited eyes became bloodshot.

“I prefer the taste of children.”

He yanked himself away and in a split second the figure was gone. A pool of blood remained on the floor near his feet, his arm was soaked, but all traces were otherwise gone. 

**Elsewhere**

Both men watched as she was raised in the air, seemingly by her right leg. There came a horrible crunching sound and blood spurted from her mid thigh. Her leg disappeared and she landed against the grassy floor, her limb lacerated into a quivering stump.

What had them stunned was not the sight of her being lifted and chomped on by some invisible monster, it was the composure with which she experienced it all. She did not flinch or scream, there was no pain in her expression. Once again she reacted as though she had felt it a million times over. 

She rolled onto her back holding the kunai upwards in the middle of her chest. 

_ If she is eaten whole… then there's no chance of her healing…  _

The realization propelled Itachi forward.

**X**

It licked its chops as though it were savoring the taste of my flesh. It's enormous eyes were glossy and a hideous milky white filled with black wriggling lines that moved back and forth. The lack of pupils always made it hard to tell where it was looking. The fangs filling its mouth were soaked in red and pivoting forward and back one by one. The teeth clicked against one another providing a rhythm to the guttural growl coming from somewhere deep within its throat. 

“Mitsuru!” 

I tore my eyes away from it in time to see Itachi nearing. He was extremely quick, scooping me up and leaping away from the giant dog-like animal that was coming down from it’s euphoria. 

Of course I could feel pain, my fucking leg had been torn off, but it was not my main concern. 

It was whipping its head from side to side, searching for me again. Itachi’s warm hands were cradling me rather gently, being careful not to squeeze what was left of my right leg. We landed on a branch high in the trees some distance from the the animal. He was looking at my lack of limb quite intensely. 

“The bleeding stopped.” he commented.

I looked down at it to see it had, indeed, stopped bleeding. The exposed muscle and bone were wet and seemed to be throbbing, but nothing was pouring from the open vessels.

So I can’t bleed to death.

“I have an idea, but it may not work.” Itachi said suddenly.

“...what is it?”

“Can you channel your chakra into me?”

“Into you?”

I had never thought of that before.

“You cannot fight it in your current condition. If you can recreate that link…” he paused, seemingly considering our previous interaction with some apprehension. “If you can recreate it and channel it into me, I may be able to take your place in the offensive.”

“But… you’ll be electrocuted.”

“Would you rather be eaten then?”

I had no other options. Without all my body parts there was no way I would be fast enough to kill it and Itachi is… He set me down on my left leg but kept me balanced with a single firm hand on my waist. 

Itachi is and will always be a much better shinobi than me. Even that is an understatement.

His sharingan locked onto my gaze and he waited for my answer. I felt weak again beneath those eyes, even more so with his dojutsu activated. 

“Okay.” I paused refocusing my attention on chakra control. “You can only see an outline, yes?”

“Yes.”

“It’s head is really big which makes its neck really weak. One slice in the muscles and it can’t keep itself up. Then you can just stab in between the eyes.”

“Alright.”

I had a feeling he could’ve made do without my short explanation. 

“H-how do you want me to do this… I-”

In his expression was some impatience. 

“I assume we would need to stay connected during the attack.”

“...o-okay, then…”

“Climb on my back.”

“C-Climb…”

“We’ve wasted enough time already.” 

I didn’t want to admit it, but my pulse increased when he grasped my wrist. He yanked my arm over his shoulder and grasped the back of my left thigh, hiking me up before jumping back. The branch we had been standing on was swallowed whole by the thing coming after me. 

Once I had gotten a good hold on his cloak he released my wrist. He continued to leap from one branch to another until he regained the distance. It was pausing on the forest floor, throwing it’s head back and forth in search of me. I curled my fingers into his cloak and tried to gather my chakra. 

“I-I can’t do it.”

I heard the sharp snapping sounds of buttons being undone and he was grasping my hand again. I almost screamed when he tugged it down and beneath his shirt. My heart wasn’t racing now, it was pounding my ribcage with a force that was almost painful. 

“W-what are y-you-”

“Just focus.” he commanded.

I shut my eyes tight, ignoring the heat on my face and concentrated as hard as I could.

**Itachi**

A swelling, burning pain filled my abdomen, but it was accompanied by a weak burst of energy that enveloped my body. A chakra that was heavy but somehow also empty was brushing against my own. It started to retreat, back into the sinfully soft skin that pressed to the now likely red, tender part of my stomach. But it was enough. 

I blinked and the outline was solid. It's features became clear. A hideous snout was snarling. It's muscles shifted beneath a patchy grey skin as it prepared to lunge towards us. Thankfully, Mitsuru was light enough not to hinder my movement greatly, but it did not matter.

This would be done in only a few seconds.

Just as it snapped it jaws at me I wheeled through the air, slicing deep behind its matted mane into the muscles of its tapering neck. A roar came from it, but I was already standing with feet spread across its forehead. I stabbed the kunai where she had suggested then was perched upon a tree trunk a few yards away. 

The creature wavered and collapsed, dissolving into a glutinous black muck that gradually disappeared into nothing. 

The chakra left me all at once and Mitsuru’s hand slipped out of my shirt. She gripped the fabric while leaning her chin on my shoulder.

“You did it! That was amazing!”

**X**

Itachi set the woman down when they returned to the forest floor. She leaned against the tree and let herself slide down into a seated position. He was unaffected by her praise for he was busy watching the anomaly that was her exposed leg.

“But, Itachi. Did…” her excited voice now edged on concern. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

The idea that someone else was able to fight these creatures alongside her was extremely comforting so once again she spoke to him as though he weren’t an S-class criminal. She spoke to him as though he were only a friend.

“More importantly. Your leg.”

She seemed startled by his statement and she looked down. They both watched it closely. The bone was growing slowly inch by inch and following behind at a much slower pace were veins and shiny red muscles moving downwards. 

They both heard footsteps, but they knew it was Kisame rejoining them after watching them fight some invisible monster.

“It looks like my theory was right, you do grow them back.” he commented with a chuckle.

Itachi described it to him in some detail, including the connection they achieved and used to destroy it. 

“Hmm,” Kisame rubbed his square chin with a large hand. “Sounds like you two had a fun time.”

He eyed her with some interest that made her skin go a bit cold.

“I might have to try it sometime.” 


	16. Belief

“Kakashi-sensei! Are you alright?”

Though he unraveled a blank scroll and sent it out via Pakkun, his brain was busy mulling over the details of what he just experienced. The woman had some sort of knowledge of him or at least his memories. There was no one else there when he lost Rin. He alone knew those images and yet she reproduced his memory. Did the elder sister somehow delve into his mind during their last two interactions and extract the information in order to supplement their abusive, calculating ways? Or did the younger sister have that ability herself? He let his arm drop to his side, his eyes clenching shut as the image of Rin’s face turned ghoulish returned. He would not remember her like this. He refused to.

_This was their plan. This is how they broke down Oda Hanako and likely Mitsuru. They take their past and muddle it with horrific imagery. They likely even replay already traumatic events in order to induce mental strain. Coupled with physical torture. It’s no wonder two young girls could succumb to them._

“Kakashi-sensei?”

He turned a pair of exhausted eyes on his student who was gazing up at him deep in concern. Though her concern had been directed at the appearance of blood on the floor and his person it was now his expression that caused her to worry.

“Sakura.” He began, kneeling down in front of the short pink haired girl.

He placed his clean hand on her arm.

“I need to speak to Tsunade-sama and you need to be there.”

“...okay. Is… is something the matter? What happened to that woman?”

“I will tell you everything when we meet with her.”

“Kakashi-sensei?”

He righted himself and took a glance at the bookshelf.

“One moment.”

She followed him into the opposite aisle to watched him pull out an encyclopaedia of mythical creatures, the same as he had grabbed once before.

“Mythical creatures?” she asked, leaning to read the title.

“I have a feeling I will be needing it.”

She was unconvinced but she didn’t argue with her teacher.

“We’re going.”

“O-okay. But I need to get the medical book Tsunade-sama sent me here for.”

Anxious that it would be out of his sight, he quietly tracked her to another aisle where she quickly found what she was looking for. She returned to his side in a few steps and they moved to the front desk to check out their books. The woman that was there originally was lightly jogging back for she had been trying to guide library-goers towards the exits. She was ruffled a bit when she asked:

“Is everything alright now?”

“Anbu will be here soon to investigate. It would be best for everyone to wait outside until they arrive.”

The woman nodded. Her appearance was disheveled for it was not usual for a civilian to be met with this much potential danger. Her hands were shaking as she stared downwards.

“Also.”

“Hmm?” she looked up.

“May we check these books out.”

“Huh.” she blinked. “Oh of course.”

**X**

He did not believe that she would suddenly be snatched away as they sprung from building to building, but he still kept his eye on her. He would protect his student, no matter what.

Normally she would not want to rush through the village in this manner. There was an unspoken rule that it was rude to do so, at least among the civilians, but she kept up with him for she had a feeling that something awful was bound to happen soon.

They arrived at the office and entered after being called.

“Kakashi. I was not expecting you until later.” Tsunade shuffled papers across her desk, but recognized the seriousness in his demeanor.

It was not like him to be early.

“Tsunade-sama, I have an update on the cases concerning Oda Hanako and Mitsui Mitsuru.”

“I see. Sakura will you leave us alone.”

She started a parting bow, but Kakashi’s hand came out as though to halt her.

“Actually, Sakura should be here as well. I believe it now concerns her.”

There was a jump from the pink haired girl.

“Me?”

Tsunade’s calm expression turned more grave and she said shortly:

“Explain.”

“I believe the murders of Nakashima Ryuu, Nakashima Kiyoko, and Oda Hanako were perpetrated by two women with the ability to shapeshift and cast strange genjutsu-like auras.”

The was a fearfulness in Sakura’s face. _Am I going to be accused of being part of this? No that doesn’t make sense. Kakashi-sensei wouldn’t do something like that._

“You’ve come to this conclusion, how?”

“I’ve met both of them and they’ve admitted to it. Currently the older sister of the two is using Mitsui Mitsuru’s face and the younger appears as Oda Hanako herself. Though the feature that distinguishes them is their teeth can turn sharp at will and their eyes change from natural colors to bloodshot with black irises. They have a faint chakra signature that is purple and reddish in color, but I’ve only ever seen it using my sharingan. However my sharingan could not counter their genjutsu-like aura, at least not the older sister’s. The younger sisters is much different.”

“A genjutsu that the sharingan cannot dispel?” Tsunade’s attention was fully drawn during his long description. “I take it it was for that reason they escaped capture. And this all has taken place inside the village walls?”

“Yes.”

Sakura was stunned by the look in her teacher’s eye. His hand curled into a fist.

“And how does this concern Sakura?” Tsunade asked.

“In all my encounters they’ve talked about eating people.”

“According to them they each prefer…” Kakashi slowly looked at his pupil. “The younger sister is who I was with today in the library.”

“That-that woman…”

“Yes and she told me she eats children.” He turned back to Tsunade. “I believe she will target Sakura.”

The color drained from Sakura’s face.

“It would fit the murders.”

Tsunade saw the terror on her apprentices expression.

“Then you are saying we have a pair of serial killers, serial cannibals, hiding somewhere in the village that are powerful enough to not be affected by your sharingan and have escaped detection otherwise.”

“Yes.”

“And Mitsui is not the one responsible for this? You can confirm with absolute certainty it is not her doing?”

“No, ma’am. I cannot.” there was a reluctance in his voice.

He wanted to say yes, but he had no evidence to prove otherwise. Likewise he did not want to describe his first encounter with the woman with Mitsuru’s face. She knew he was withholding something, but she trusted this man enough that he would reveal all important facts. Her eyes shut as she considered the information that had been presented.

“Sakura will have company will her until we have them both captured and we will inform all active shinobi of the threat. If we declare it to the populace there will be chaos and people will start their own witch hunts. Without a large police force and with our personnel so limited we cannot attend to every false sighting.”

“Truly.”

“Sakura you will stay close to Shizune at all times. When she is sent on errands you are to remain in the Hokage’s office with me. We will inform your parents that you will be going through an intensive training regimen that requires you to be here at all times.”

“Understood.”

She was relieved. Having a powerful shinobi nearby was enough to scrape away her fears of being consumed by some odd woman with sharp teeth. Shizune, seemingly aware that her name was mentioned, knocked and entered the room.

“Kakashi-san, Sakura.” she observed the heaviness in the room and approached the desk to set down the scrolls she carried.

“Shizune, will you take Sakura with you downstairs?”

“Of course.”

When the two girls left, Tsunade leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms beneath her breasts.

“Now what is it?”

“The older sister stated she would be visiting me one more time.” Kakashi’s fist finally loosened and he said. “It will likely be our last opportunity to subdue them.”

“You sound concerned. Is there something you are hiding Kakashi?”

“I fear admitting it aloud would make it real.”

“It’s not like you to ‘fear.’”

“I believe these women are not human.”

Her brown eyes locked onto his. Certainly she wasn’t expecting this. This out of character Kakashi.

“What are they then?”

The book he had tucked up near his armpit was now in his hands.

“The elder sister told me she was an oni.”

“She was lying to rattle you, wasn’t she?”

“I’ve achieved a direct hit with my chidori on the younger sister and she escaped anyway.”

“And you believe what they say. That they are oni.”

“Tsunade-sama, I understand your skepticism. I too didn’t come to this conclusion blindly, I’ve been agonizing over it. At this point it is all I have come up with. Believe me, I will gladly accept a less fantastic explanation for their abilities.”

“I will admit to what you’ve presented for now, but I’m sure once we’ve collated other accounts and properly prepared for your next encounter with them, we will find the origin of their powers.”

He let his head drop in a rather grateful and submissive bow. His fingers squeezed around the encyclopedia. He hoped her sentiment would ring true.

**Elsewhere**

This was their final break before they would at last reach this mysterious organizations hideout. The bone in Mitsuru’s missing leg had regrown completely and was slowly being swallowed up in muscle and tissue. Itachi had carried her on his back mentioning that she would be too slow left on her own, but internally stating that letting her exposed flesh come in contact with dirt may harm her in some way. Though the likelihood that she could experience illness was extremely slim. He only recited the reason in his mind then argued it away by repeating that she would only slow them down.

Kisame had become quite sick of the younger pairs glances to one another. They saw seriousness. Each always sent a quick look, a silent message that there was some hostility between them, but Kisame could see a conversation in their gandering. One that they actively denied by the forced anger. He did not wish to be a part of this any longer.

Itachi saw him walking away, but before he could ask where he was going Kisame irkly waved his hand. He was not to be bothered.

Mitsuru advanced to a large smooth rock with a few hops on her left leg. She seated herself and held out the regenerating limb, studying it with a mild interest.

Now was the time. Itachi needed this privacy. There was something he needed to attend to regarding the woman who had obtained his memories.

“Mitsuru.”

She turned to him as he approached. He pulled a roll of bandages from his pouch. He knelt in front of her and without asking began wrapping the exposed skin loosely. When he finished he straightened in front of her.

“Be clear with me now. How much did you see?”

Her features, that had managed a small smile, receded back into a blank stare.

“What part of everything doesn’t make sense?” she hissed.

He seated himself at an angle so he could look directly at her face.

“Can you briefly describe it to me? Any event will do.”

He did not want her to recite any event. That was a lie and she knew it. He wanted her to tell him she knew about him massacring his clan and not the reason that the world believed, but the true reason he had done it.

Her hands curled atop her shorts, her eyes falling away from him.

“If.” she started, but she turned away. “It feels dirty. Knowing this, but it's not like I can change anything.”

“Please.” he said it very softly.

“It must have been tough. Doing this all alone.”

When she turned back she saw a look that would likely etch itself into her thoughts. His eyes were halved due to the furrowing of his brows, yet it was accompanied by a smile.

“I was going to kill you.” he said.

“And the only reason you didn’t is… because you can’t.” she completed it. “Yes, I could feel it after I accidentally made that connection. Your reaction was… your intention was to kill me. So I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.”

“I’m going to say this, because it is necessary.”

She met his dark eyes once again.

“Do not speak a word of it. If you do, I will find a way.”

“You don’t trust me.” she spoke it not for his confirmation, but to make it real to herself.

The person that she secretly hoped would become her ally did not see her the same. She had become a hazard. A nick in his duties. Something he needed to do away with one way or another.

He did not respond to her statement. He only watched her.

“Even though you don’t trust me,” she shut her eyes to gather some strength then opened them again with a look of fierce determination. “Remember where I’m from. I would never do anything to put Konoha in danger. You should know this much.”

They eyed one another, once again settling into an impasse of stares.

“Was I to assume your allegiance when you bear no symbol?”

“I never got to graduate. I never even received the title of genin. I told you I woke up recently, then I was just dropped outside of the village by those things after-” she stopped.

“Without demonstration a title means nothing. You can defend your village without them.”

“Well that’s what I intended to do anyway.” she huffed with a bit of a pout.

But recalling the evening before she was inexplicable removed from her home made her stomach turn. Her hand fastened to the shirt above her abdomen and he noticed.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. It’s… it’s nothing.”

_I know all about him, but that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to tell him everything about me, does it? What would he think of me if I told him what I’d done? I didn’t kill for the sake of my village. I was made to murder by a beast._

He did not intend to push her further for he had another agenda that still required them being alone. It was likely Kisame would return and demand they leave immediately. He could not wait to remove Mitsuru from their care.

“When we enter the Akatsuki hideout, you cannot let them know your alliance or that we have known each other longer than our meeting in the land of fire. They will seal you instantaneously.”

“If I’m asked to prove my kekkei genkai?”

“You cannot. You can claim you were not trained as a shinobi so accessing that power is impossible. You were an orphan wandering along the outskirts of the village for the entirety of your life, aside from the coma you were in. The lack of memories would thus be plausible.”

“Would there be anyone there who knew my father?”

“It is unlikely. They will not ask you too many questions about your life. If you can manage to use your connection on another person, they will probably bring you someone to test it on, then you can prove a use value.”

“I… I can’t control that, I thought we were training my sensing ability not-”

“There is nothing else you can do that would be worthy of keeping you out of a scroll. No one else can see those creatures and they will not believe me. Even if they do believe me it will not become an issue to them because we have never been bothered by such creatures before.”

She tapped her knuckles against her temples.

“This feels very complicated.”

“Get your head around it quickly. We do not have much time.”

“Itachi.” her hands dropped and her look became pensive once again. “Why are you helping me so much?”

His eyes deterred.

“I am only doing this to prevent you from leaking any unnecessary information.”

 _But that was only recently. Why did you help me train? Why were you so willing to keep me from being sealed away? And wouldn’t having me sealed away help you now?_ She wanted to scream them, but Kisame was returning.

**X**

I was kept from knowing how to open the entrance, but it's not like I could have imitated the jutsu. I was missing some of the most basic shinobi skills, let alone more complicated sealing techniques. Itachi had warned me not to speak unless I was directly addressed and though it was not in my personality I decided to bite my tongue when needed. Not that pain would do much anyway.

Inside was a blackness my eyes had difficulty adjusting to. There were people standing in a sort of semicircle, deep in discussion, but that all ceased once they noticed my presence.

“We will deal with this first.” said an extremely deep voice coming from a pair of purple ringed eyes.

This man was standing facing the semicircle.

“You’ve brought before us a woman who is supposed to be immortal.”

“The limb that is wrapped in bandages was torn from her body and has been regenerating ever since.”

“I can vouch for that.” Kisame added.

“But she is not a proper shinobi and she possesses no real skills?” the voice continued.

They began this conversation as though it were a continuation of another.

“We’ve discovered a new skill. Though she is weak she is capable of extracting information directly from a person's mind, using a lightning jutsu.”

There were a few hums and grunts. This was news to them I suppose.

“She will need to demonstrate it. Otherwise she is nothing more than a thin shield.”

Of course I would need to. There is no mercy for me on this planet.

“I suppose there are no volunteers for this.”

A resounding no.

“Then we will place it on hold until we procure a…”

His eyes flashed. He saw something I didn’t. He saw it before I could feel it.

No. No. No. NO.

My hands clasped around my mouth. The numbing pain, the sensation of growing. Here it comes again.

“What the fucks wrong with her?”

How is this happening? Is she close? Have I gotten weaker?

My head lifted, revealing what was likely a strange face by the reactant expression on the pale man who had spoken. His short-lids were narrowing as though he gauged some animosity from me.

“Jashin-sama, huh?”

My voice was hers. She was using me again.

“You’ve heard then? About Jashin-sama?” he suddenly seemed excited.

What was I, she saying? Who is she talking about?

“Jashin-sama, ne.”

I straightened, grinning with what I knew was a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. My fingers pushed back the strands that had fallen over my face.

“The one with the small-dick complex?”

The man glowered at me with murderous intent. Had I been in control I would have looked away, but the muscles in my face were straining in their unwavering mirth.

There was a foggy redness encircling my vision, my legs were wobbling, but it didn’t resemble weakness. By the tenseness of the room they must have concluded I was a potential danger. They must feel it, the chakra change or is it…

Itachi’s sharingan was on me and he was shifting out of his calm, statuesque stance.

“Open your mouth again you ugly bitch.” The silvery haired man snarled.

“He makes you all stay virgins because he couldn’t even last a minute.” I chuckled while making a hip bucking motion.

Laughter resounded in the large, dark space, but it was drowned out by rapid approaching steps and the scrape of his scythe against the stone floor. Everyone kept at a distance while he swung his weapon at me. My body snapped back at an unnaturally sharp angle releasing a loud crack that would have caused any normal person to flinch.

Everything was suddenly pure darkness. This squeezing sensation was all around me as though the air pressure had tripled and the wind was ripped from my lungs. But it only lasted a moment. My right hand was gripping cloth and with one swift motion I had hurled the man through the dim cave by the back of his cloak. He slammed into the wall causing a multitude of cracks to sprout from behind his limp form.

For a second it seemed I, she, it had won but he stirred, then was on his feet. He was cursing rather furiously while straightening to attack again. But the squeezing, the darkness, the loss of air was around me again. And I was on top of him. A hand grasped his throat another gripped his wrist and he was pinned to floor. My teeth sunk into his bicep and my head jerked back.

Red spurted across the stone. I chewed and swallowed then tore into him again. Roars ripped through the space. A strong masculine hand found a grip in my hair but was unable to pull me off.

Then a feeling I hoped to never feel again returned. Control returned, his fingers nearly shredded my hair as he yanked me up enough he could edge his foot between our bodies and ram it into my stomach. I was knocked onto my back but I hurriedly rolled onto my side. I vomited.

Not again. Not this again. Not this. Please.

More vomit.

The taste.

No.

The men were gathered around me with varying looks of disgust. I managed to look at Itachi whose sharingan design had changed. My wide frightened eyes, my shaking body stained with blood and lying in vomit was a horrific image to him. He was revolted by me.

The deep voice belonging to the purple ringed eyes was speaking again, calmly:

“Seal her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm interested in having a beta reader for this fic. Comment if you are interested and we can exchange some info.  
> Thanks! :)


	17. Seal

“It would not matter how much you try, she will not die from your ritual, Hidan.” 

“I don’t fucking care! I’m going to kill that fucking freak, that fucking bitch!”

Veins appeared in his throat and along the sides of his faces, his pale skin had turned a shade of red, a product of the fury with which he roared. 

“It would be interesting to watch. See who collapses first?”

“His chakra will run out and he will only have succeeded in dirtying more of the floor.”

“But what if she doesn’t regenerate quick enough?”

“Her most vital body parts are healed immediately, the rest of her will be gradual as we have already uncovered.”

“It will be pointless then.”

“As I stated, yes.”

The woman they spoke off was knelt on a smooth patch of stone with her wrists bound behind her back. The position reduced the blood flow to her feet and her knees were pinkening due to the pressure, but she was not concerned with the discomfort. She desperately wanted some water, but she assumed not one would offer nor would they oblige if she were to request it. The taste on her tongue was something her mind had done much to forget. It was unnatural, strange, purely disgusting to have this lingering across her buds. 

She coughed only to have an intense wave of scent and flavor pass through her again. Her features twisted for a few moments, then receded back into a blank stare. Perhaps she would adjust herself to it, after all, she was about to be sealed away. Would she still taste it while locked inside a scroll?

“This is the first time she has attacked.”

“She was mostly obedient up until this point.” Kisame added. “Aside from the invisible demons should would fight, she was your average, feeble woman.”

“Invisible demons?”

“Ask this one.” He motioned towards his partner. “Apparently he could see them too.”

“Just as we discussed, when we first came across her she vomited a black mucus and a person seemed to be crawling out of it. That has happened only once but since then these creatures have come after her and all have tried to consume her. I can see a chakra outline of them, but it was only when she and I connected our chakra flows that I was able to see it clearly.”

“You used her connecting ability to do this, I presume.”

“Yes.”

“Kisame mentioned it was not a complete jutsu.”

“With your eyes I'm sure you noticed, her signature is abnormal-”

“There are two.” 

Itachi paused.

“There is another chakra signature, it appears as a reddish purple, that is consuming hers.”

“You saw that as well?”

“Yes.”

“It is for that reason that it is not a complete jutsu. The sparks coincide with sudden bursts of emotion. As though her network has gone out of control. The other chakra appears in all of the creatures that have pursued her. After she defeats them they disappear.”

“Then they are controlled by an outside force?”

“It seems so.”

“Then her presence will bring those, the ones who are responsible for the creation of these creatures, to our organization. Once she is sealed she will need to be kept close. If they were to come for her, they would need to be dealt with by someone who can see them.”

Itachi understood his meaning.

“I will take responsibility for her.”

“Do we have to?” Kisame groaned.

“It is normal for you to tend to the pets you adopt.”

Kisame released a sigh, resting a hand on his hip and letting his head fall back.  _ Well, _ he considered the situation for what it was,  _ as long as she is in the scroll she will be no problem. Then I won't have to watch them flirt with each other anymore. _

“Sasori, when you finish preparing the scroll you will find her in the remaining dungeon.”

Another gruff voice coming from a large shape answered in the affirmative.

“Kisame and Itachi, see to it she…”

Pein’s eyes drifted to another part of the room and Itachi followed his line of sight. The aura in the cool cave, filled with echoes of Hidan's murderous cursing, became heavy and extremely cold. But only the two doujutsu users had noticed. Along with Mitsuru of course. She sat back and buried her face between her knees. She knew what was coming.

**X**

I didn't need to feel the air change to know which monster had found me next. This was too perfect, this would be the exact position that it would find me in. I could hear its tiny feet against the floor, stumbling towards me. 

If they could see it they would ask: why is there a little girl here? Why is she trembling so uncontrollably? Why does her body move like that?    
Constant twitching, vibrating muscles, an unpredictable thing she was. The first time I saw her I had thought she was another person stuck in the nightmare, another young girl being tormented by these creatures. I noticed her movement but didn’t think anything of it. I was desperate for a comrade. I didn’t want to be alone anymore.

I could feel her hair brushing against my arms, swishing because her constantly moving limbs could not keep it in one place. I clenched my jaw, squeezed my knees tighter around my head. There was nothing I could do while tied up, but I would not look at her. I never wanted to see that face again. 

Two small hands gripped my forearm and I became aware of its movement for it was shaking me slightly from side to side. Then its pointed teeth sunk into my arm, sawing through my flesh like a shark before ripping away to swallow. It lowered its mouth again, but I would not move. Trying to fight it now would make them all I think I was trying to attack them again. Just endure. When I’m alone. When I’m alone I’ll take care of it.

**X**

“This is what you meant by creatures?”

“Yes. And she is the only one that can destroy them. She is able to use weapons against them, but my shuriken had no effect. It was only when we made the connection that I could use a kunai against it as well. My theory is if the presence of the second chakra were absent, she would not be able to fight them as well.”

“I see.”

They watched pieces of her arm gradually disappear from behind a thick outline. 

“It won’t attack anyone else?”

“Kisame and I have never been targeted.”   
“Then we have no reason to deal with this. See her to the dungeon.”

Kisame moved towards her silently, eyeing the reveal of a snow white bone. Though a normal person’s blood would pour outwards and coat the exposed insides, her veins constricted. Whatever was eating her paused. For a few seconds no pieces of her were consumed, instead, the muscles grew, attempting to replace what she had lost. Kisame took this opportunity to grab her back the back of her shirt and lift her to her feet.

“Come along now.”

“I will go as well. To prevent any complications.” Itachi said to Pein.

“Do as you wish, but both of you return quickly. We have much to discuss.”

“Understood.”

They descended down a dark corridor. She blinked many times but her eyes would not adjust. Kisame threw her body into the dungeon. Her face scraped against the patched floor. She rose onto her knees still deep in darkness. 

She had been in this situation many times, but her main concern was the creature she knew would come after her once it had come down from its euphoria. 

“See you later, little freak.”

Kisame started to walk away but paused when his partner did not follow.

“You go on ahead.”

“Need a farewell kiss?”

Itachi’s fingers dug into his palm beneath his cloak but he did not respond. The irritation was detected by the shark man and he ambled away, satisfied with his jest and the effect it had on him. Itachi entered the still open dungeon and knelt beside the woman.

“You have three minutes until it will reach this point. Starting now.”

Mitsuru’s eyes fell shut at the sound of the iron door swinging closed. His presence was gone and his footsteps faded after only a few seconds. She waited with tensed limbs for the pattering of feet to near her once again. She only had one chance to time this. Once it was too close she would be unable to fend it off. It would be her nightmare all over again.

And she swung her leg hard, ramming into the side of it’s child-size head. A pair of sunken eyes met hers in the moment her limb connected. The tiny body met the floor and rolled, but Mitsuru was after it. 

_ It’s not a child. It’s not a child. _

She repeated this as she slammed her one sandaled foot against his skull.

_ It’s not a child. _

The black mucus was spreading out across the floor. 

_ It’s. _

The side of its face caved in.

_ Not. _

A gurgled sound left it’s mouth.

_ A. _

The shivering limbs stilled.

_ Child. _

**X**

Only Itachi needed to be present for her sealing. A red haired man had unraveled a clean scroll across the stone. In his hand was a red calligraphy brush with ink trickling down the bristles. Itachi saw her in an upright fetal position once again. Her shoulders were quaking. 

_ She’s upset? Afraid? Or is she going to attack again? _

The red haired man didn’t take much of an interest in the other two in the cool space of this cell. He wanted to complete this task and move on for there were other things he had planned to tend to today. He completed the writing.

“Say your goodbyes.” he said boredly.

Itachi saw her lift her head just a bit, revealing slightly reddened eyes and tears streaming down her face.

“Just do it.” she hissed.

“Eager, are we?” 

“I can’t do this anymore. Just do it. Please.”

Sasori studied this woman’s expression for a moment longer than was necessary. She was far different from person that sliced into Hidan. It confirmed to him that she was being controlled by some outside force, one that enjoyed seeing her in such a weakened state. However, this didn’t matter to him because, once again, there were other things he needed to do. 

Itachi felt another tightening in his chest, but he only watched her as she transformed from a whimpering girl into a mere symbol painted on paper.

**Two Weeks Later**

It wasn’t often that Kisame and Itachi were parted. He said he would take care of this mission on his own. It would be simple. Itachi could have a couple of days to himself and they would rendezvous at a predetermined destination. He spent them training. What else was there to do? Maintaining his physical shape was necessary to prolong his health. He had kept the scroll in his weapons pouch secured to his waist. Once or twice he had pulled out the cylindrical object and gazed at it, wondering briefly how she was faring. Was she at peace? Was she frustrated and trying desperately to escape? The last moment he had seen her he saw how much her resolve had dropped. The creature was no longer there when he and Sasori approached. Had something happened to cause her to give up? Could he develop a decent enough reason to release her and ask her himself? Surely he could reseal her if necessary.

“Excuse me, sir.”

How had he not felt that presence before it had spoken? He jumped away, using the momentum to spin and face the source of the sprightly voice. 

“But that scroll you have. May I take it from you?”

A young woman stood before him with a disturbingly large smile on her face. He saw the color, he saw the thin figure with a solid version of the outlines he was familiar with.

“Sharingan?” she stepped back tilting her head as though she were examining his eyes. “Another one.”

She continued to back away, her lids narrowing into a glare. 

“Who are you?” Itachi straightened.

His presence was naturally menacing. His calm made her lower her body as she backed away.

“He’s too strong.” she whispered. “An Uchiha…” 

Suddenly she giggled, putting a hand over her mouth as though she were a normal girl:

“It’s an Uchiha, Ne-san.”

One of her eyes shut as though a loud sound had burst near her ear. 

“But it’s an Uchiha. He’s too strong. He figured out how to kill them.” she continued to whisper to herself.

_ If this person is responsible for Mitsuru’s condition, it would be best to wait for her to make a movement.  _

“But you couldn’t have the old one. This is a newer… younger one. The one from long ago. You couldn’t. How could I if you couldn’t?”

But she’s only speaking in nonsensical phrases. 

“I won’t try. I won’t.” she dropped into a crouch still looking up at him. “One day. Not today.”

She put her fingers in her ears.

“Don’t yell. Just go eat.”

She sighed and stood.

“Then pick off an easier one. I can’t come back yet. I have to eat too.”

Another odd smile appeared on her lips and she made a mocking sign with her hand. Her mouth then opened and closed in the shape of “blah blah blah.”

“Ne-san you are so mean.”

Her head whipped to the side and she crouched again.

“Okay.”

She curled into a tight ball and said again:

“Okay.”

This strange woman had gone from dangerous and mocking to submissive in less than a moment. She repeated her confirmations for some time, squeezing herself tighter and tighter, her fingers dug into her scalp and drew blood. 

“Okay.”

She was up once again, this time with her eyes pitch black and veins squirming inside of it. Her fingernails, still filled with bits of tissue and red, started to dig into her thighs.

“She’s mad now.”

“Who is?”

He would play along if it allowed him information.

“Ne-san is mad.”

“Who were you speaking to?”

“Ne-san of course.”

“And who is this person?”

“Person? That’s funny.”

“If she is not a person then what is she?”

“She’ll tell you herself when she gets here.”

The woman put a hand against the tree behind her and walked backwards once more. Gradually she became hidden, but Itachi’s eyes he could still see her. Without blinking he saw the chakra dissipate until not even a wisp was left behind. 


	18. Strictly Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: First scene contains some sexual violence.

A hand was weakly clawing away piles and piles of dirt. His large fingers grasped the tiny wrist and he yanked with all his might. 

“Mitsuru, mitsuru is that you?”

Though she was coated in layers of dark brown muck he cradled her shivering body close to his. A ferocious mix of shock and relief enveloped his incredibly tense body. He gazed down at her with an affection that he showed so few. 

A gloved thumb brushed some of the wet dirt over her eyelids then did the same with her thin pale lips. 

“Mitsuru.” he repeated in a softer voice.

The lack of response alarmed him. He put an ear to her chest, shutting his eyes in concentration. In moments he was tugging down the edge of his mask and tilting her chin up. His mouth pressed atop hers. Her torso rose slightly and she shuddered. As his head lifted away she coughed, each hack shaking her small ribcage. 

“Thank goodness,” he sighed. “I have to get you to the hospital-”

“N-No.”

She gripped his vest, tugging it down just slightly.

“N-No, I can’t g-go there.”

“Okay.”

It was strange of him to agree to her refusal so quickly. Instead of taking common sense action he carried her into his home which suddenly had appeared in the distance. The bath in his home, instead of the large wooden basin he remembered, resembled the showers at the Jounin Standby Station. After a toss of his vest and tools he rolled up his sleeves. He approached Mitsuru who was leaning against the cool tile wall, covering her face with her dirty hands. Without hesitation he gently peeled the clothing sticking to her skin. Her eyes filled with tears, but his body was moving without a sliver of doubt. 

An aura was naturally building between them as her bare body was softly scrubbed clean. With a washcloth he gently wiped away every inch of mud from her heart shaped face. His thumb lingered against her narrow chin. When their gazes finally met he leaned down to press his lips to hers.

He moved back while blinking and she was stretched out across stark white sheets. Embarrassment reddened her flat cheeks. Her skin now looked soft and clean, just begging to be touched. 

“K-Kakashi-san… please don’t be so rough. It’s my first ti-ah!”

He yearned for more. Every tiny bounce of that small body sent him into a frenzy. 

“P-Please… ah... be m-more gentle.”

Her pleading did nothing to slow him down. 

“Kakashi-san it hurts!”

Her eyes became wide; her hands pushed against his chest.

“Kakashi-san you’re- you’re-”

Blood dripped from between her lips. Red spurted from a wound that appeared at her throat then soaked over the once smooth skin. The white bed turned a deep scarlet color.

“You’re killing me.”

Throwing himself backwards he hit the ground with a resounding thump. His foot grazed a wooden chair, causing it to tip then clatter against the rug.. He was panting hard. A cold bead of sweat trickled down his temple and absorbed into his mask. He placed a bare hand against his forehead while trying to catch his breath. 

He had awoken like this for the first time in years. Shaking, sweating, reeling out of bed to get away from the horrific images in his head: reminders that he couldn’t keep his promise, manifestations of his greatest fears, inflicting intense pain on someone he only wanted to protect, being unable to control his deepest desire. 

Just as his breathing slowed his head tilted back.

“What a nice dream.”

He met a pair of dark, excited eyes, staring at him from only an inch away.

**Elsewhere, The Day Before**

_ Is it enough reason to release her? I’m sure I can handle the woman who approached me without the addition of Mitsuru’s chakra. She might have more information on them though. Perhaps there is something that occurred within her nightmare that she hadn’t considered. If she were to describe it to me, maybe I can pick up on something. That is enough a reason, I’m sure.  _

The tips of his fingers caressed the curve of the paper scroll as gently as one would touch someone they loved. He scooped it up, letting it roll a bit in his palm.

It wasn’t so he could lay eyes on her again. It wasn’t so he could take in her lovely scent or have the opportunity to feel her skin again. 

This was strictly business.

He unrolled the scroll across the dirt and planted his hand against the seal. A cloud appeared, swirling and bursting outwards. He waited patiently for her to become visible, but the woman before him was not exactly as he remembered. She was faced away from him. Her hair, once short with light frayed edges, now hung to the middle of her narrow waist. The ends remained in their rambunctious state, but the rest was a series of luscious, light waves that led to her scalp. She somehow seemed longer. Her muscles were leaner. The sinews beneath the skin of her calves were tighter, smoother. But his eyes were drawn to a dark line around her caramel brown thigh. 

She had no scars the last time he saw her.

He studied it as she faced him, the turn revealing the dark mark to circle the limb perfectly, as though she had been carefully sliced. His eyes traveled up her torso slowly. Where he had once seen a flat figure was now graced with an alluring round bust. It was unlike him to stare in this way, but he found himself fixated on this changed being standing only a few feet in front of him. 

Her second movement was a raise of her forearms where she scrutinized a large amount of dark marks in the shape of teeth. Even around her light brown eye were remnants of some violence she had faced, yet her eye itself was unharmed. 

It only took him a second longer to recognize every mark on her skin and relate it to each beast she had faced.

She stepped towards him and he righted himself in response.

“I have a question.” he said.

“Yes.”

Even her voice differed. It was a touch deeper than before, fuller. Somehow she had experienced a growth spurt while locked away in a paper scroll. He was not looking at a thin, frail young girl. Before him was a woman.

He wanted to withhold commentary on her appearance for his intention was only to ask his predetermined question then seal her away again - or so he had convinced himself - but when his lips moved again he stated:

“You are different.”

“Yes.” she repeated in a softer tone. 

She too seemed a bit shocked as she gazed down at herself. Her hands absentmindedly cupped her breasts then patted her hips and thighs.

“Very.”    
It was a whisper. A shiver ran down his spine, but he ignored it. 

Her delicate fingers danced along the lines on her arms, getting a feel for her altered body. 

“I had a question.” he reiterated more so to himself than her.

Her eyes traveled to him now, waiting for the continuation.

“Do you know who is controlling those monsters that come after you?”

“I do not know their names, if they have them.” she began, squeezing a rather solid mass of muscle in her arm. “But they like to appear as women. They take other people's faces for fun.”

“I see.”

“Is that all you brought me out here for?” she asked.

He did not have an answer. He’d spent hours convincing himself that this question was enough of a reason to unseal her, yet, now that he had gone through with it, it seemed it wasn’t a sufficient at all.

“...thank you.”

His eyes flickered at the gentleness with which she iterated her thanks. Her hands lifted the large mass of hair up behind her head.

“May I borrow a kunai?” 

He did not think. He only moved reflexively to comply with her request. She thanked him again when the metal tool was placed in her hand, then she proceeded to lift the waterfall of hair with one hand. In seconds she had sliced through most of it, leaving her edges an uneven mess. 

There was a seriousness in her expression as she carved more and more strands. She stopped when she was near the hairline above her neck. He prepared another question but was halted by an airy laugh.

“You can leave your hair long and not worry about it being used against you in a fight, but I’m not good like you Itachi. I can use all the help I can get.”

Ignoring the praise he managed to recite his new question:

“How is it that you are different?”

The hand holding the kunai dropped to her side. 

“I’m not really sure, but I have a theory.” she held the weapon back out to him.

The air between them remained awkward. He took the kunai, allowing himself a few lingering touches of what was a surprisingly warm hand. Why did she hand it back to him? To establish some level of trust? After all, the last time he saw her she was attacking and eating a human. Was this woman the same as that creature? Something within him said no.

“Go on.”

“While in there I felt lighter.” she paused to brush a few strands over her ear. “Check me with your sharingan. I bet the chakra is weaker now.”

He blinked and his onyx irises turned red. 

“Indeed, it seems there is less of it.”

“I guess it was stunting my growth? I remember the doctors, when I first woke up, talking about the chakra pulling back. I guess those things can’t keep a strong hold when I’m in another dimension?” she mused. “And since it was weakened my body sort of just kickstarted. Maybe I’m more human now than ever?”

“I suppose so.”

There was a pause with their stares meeting. 

She knew there had to be another reason he released her. It couldn’t only have been his first question. And would he return her soon? Of course he could, the red haired man must have provided him with the necessary handsigns to do so. Though the other dimension was a quite peaceful and she deeply enjoyed the lightness she had felt. Normalcy was not yet a concept her body understood, but her time in there - though time had passed without her knowledge, due to the absence of markers - was spent by herself with her thoughts. Absolute aloneness. She thought she would die from dehydration or starvation, but it did not come. Her lightness did not once turn empty. Such a pleasant experience it had been, but her limbs had grown restless. She needed movement. She also needed something beyond the physical pain.

Twice now they had her face the child. The first it was a child ferociously beating down another with tears of anguish in her eyes. This time she was an adult, aware of what it was, but equally burdened by the sunken eyes and faint pleas it uttered as its skull was smashed in.

Mitsuru decided, now that she was allowed time to contemplate her place in the world, that were she to remain outside the scroll she would devote herself to ridding the earth of those cruel monsters. If she faltered, they would simply seek out more prey. She wanted no one to face what she had faced. No more stumbling. No more being dragged about as others wished. 

The harshness of her stare, met with his cool, calm one had taught him everything.

“Kisame and I will be meeting tomorrow midday. In the meantime, I would like you to describe your nightmare to me.”

“...my nightmare.”

“Yes. I encountered one of those women sometime yesterday. She requested I hand the scroll containing you over, then suddenly seemed to be arguing with someone in her mind. She disappeared shortly afterwards.”

Mitsuru’s eyes widened. 

“Her version of the chakra in your body was solid. Her killing intent was far more present than most of the shinobi that you would face. I felt, to put myself at an advantage, I should request as much information out of you as possible.”

She considered the statement for a few moments.  _ That must be it then.  _

“But first.”

She looked up again.

“We should have a meal.”

A light filled those brown eyes. _ Food. Real food. _

“You can tell me at your leisure at the inn after we have dinner.”

“Un!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been a bit under the weather.


	19. The Nightmare Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! It's been a long time. Thank you to everyone who commented! I really appreciate your feedback. I've been really busy and only just recently was able to finish this chapter. I'll try to come back and update regularly.  
> Thanks again!

The lantern was being lit by a portly middle-aged woman. She slid open the entrance and disappeared just as Itachi and Mitsuru came down the road. Mitsuru paused suddenly and put a fist against her mouth.

“What is it?” Itachi looked back at her.

“Do you have any extra wrappings?”

“For… oh.”  
He recognized a bashful aversion of her eyes. Her hands covered the marks on her arms to little effect and she fidgeted from side to side. Yes, a woman lined with scars was going to face a lot of scrutiny from anyone who passed her by. There was no social stigma against men with scars. In fact it was looked on as marks of their bravery and resilience against the harshness of the world. Women with scars were, for lack of a better phrase, damaged goods.

For a moment Itachi was ready to blurt, that her appearance did not matter. She was lovely and her marks would only prove how much she had overcome, but he saw by the downward tilt of her head she would not listen. If he tried to deny her feelings he would only be met with some resistance and the potential for a pleasant meal would be ruined.

He handed what he had over and she quickly covered the perfect segmentation of her right thigh. In only a few minutes she had carefully wrapped the entirety of her forearms. By the time she reached the end of the roll she had none left for her right eye. She put a few fingers to her cheek, still looking down at the dirt beneath her one bare foot and one sandaled foot. He finally noticed this and commented:

“We should procure replacements.”

“...right. Yes… actually. I think it's fine.”

He saw a determination return to her face, her hand dropped and she no longer seemed concerned with the teeth-like scars surrounding her eye.

“Let’s just eat.”

I see her plan. If she has more control over her chakra, then her sensing ability should improve significantly. If she were to reduce the barriers between her skin and the ground, then it should prove at least slightly helpful. She will just have to build calluses on her skin.

He silently turned then led her into the small and empty restaurant. They were directed to sit wherever they pleased. Towards the entrance but just out of sight, they faced one another across a narrow table atop a raised tatami floor. To her left was a small window. In that tiny square was the road leading towards the base of a mountain. Itachi informed her they would meet up with Kisame there.

In this moment he would study her fully. There was a faraway look in her brown irises which was only enhanced by the reflection of the soft, flickering candlelight. Shadows were cast across her somehow vibrant smooth skin. He could not shake that the person in front of him was an entirely different creature than the woman he knew. The shell suddenly seemed alive.

The restaurant owner returned with a tea set filled with freshly brewed green tea and she took their orders. They sipped in silence.

Mitsuru saw the the ring on his finger. She scrutinized its red glow and made no comment at the striking feel of his eyes boring into her. Were she a more nervous person she would have blushed, trembled even, but she was not. Their eyes locked.

A chill traveled down his spine. The way she refused to look away was truly something to behold.

The stillness, the world slowly forming between the two of them, dissolved with sound of wood creaking. She broke away just as the woman returned to greet the person entering. A narrow frame hidden by a black cloak appeared. A tiny pale hand tugged the hood over the side of their face. They passed the pair in a few slightly hasty steps and sat behind them facing away from Mitsuru.

Both had their attention drawn to this person. With a calmness that was so like him, Itachi blinked to activate his doujutsu and scanned the person that had joined them in this small, quiet restaurant.

She’s likely just a traveler.

The food arrived shortly after. Mitsuru was no longer ruffled by the person. Her hands clapped together in demonstration of her thanks and in moments half the bowl of rice had disappeared. Itachi was slightly taken aback by this sudden ravenous display. Before the smile could grace his lips he began his meal.

“Master! Seconds please!” she called.

“Someone has quite the appetite.” the woman replied, taking the empty bowl with two hands.

“I haven’t eaten in two weeks.”

The woman paused, scanned Mitsuru, then walked away. It wasn’t long before she returned with a tray carrying two overpacked bowls.

“Here you go.” she set one in front of her and continued. “And for you.”

Itachi stared at the bowl for a moment.

“You look like you need it too. Make sure to eat well.”

“Thank you!” Mitsuru chirped.

Itachi managed to keep his lip from raising into a smile. The woman in front of him eagerly swallowed mouthful after mouthful of warm steaming rice. Grains stuck to her filled cheeks. He had never seen her so happy. She gulped down the last of her miso soup and lobbed a large piece of soy sauce drenched tofu into her mouth.

“Take mine as well.” he said.

But the sound of the person shifting behind her made them tense. She slowed her chewing. Her ears would have perked like a dogs to match the sudden focus her features took on. Itachi locked his gaze onto the shivering shoulders of the girl behind Mitsuru.

Just as quickly as she had entered the girl was standing. She left a small pile of coins on the edge of the table, bowed to the restaurant owner and turned to exit. Something must have obstructed her path because she slipped and dropped down to a single knee just beside the pair watching her closely. The hood fell partway off her head. And finally she turned to them.

Her eyes were a deep onyx with tiny defining lines on either side of small button nose. Her face was a delicate heart shape that lead to a head of shimmering straight black hair. Her thin lips were also a pale salmon pink. Mitsuru’s gaze met the young girls but the girl looked away to the man on the opposite side of the table. Their eyes met for a moment as well and she looked down.

A pause between the three dark eyed individuals left an awkward silence.

“Excuse me.” the pale face staring at the floor had a rather voluptuous voice.

But the two words she spoke were shuddering as though she were on the verge of tears. She tugged the edge of her hood back over her face and in the next moment she was gone. The curtains at the entrance flapped and her light, quick footsteps faded.

Both Mitsuru and Itachi felt strange. Neither could shake the familiarity of the stunningly beautiful face that had gazed up at them. But neither could make a conjecture about the identity of this familiar featured person that was no longer within reach.

So instead they ate in a silence.

Soon the meeting was forgotten. They paid for their meal. Mitsuru thanked the owner repeatedly. She raved about the food generously with extra bows and a large, excited smile.

Itachi requested information for an inn and was directed to the opposite end of the small village. There were sure to be openings and the two of them would be given plenty of privacy, the woman had added with a confident wave of the hand. The dark haired man thanked her and turned, planning to ignore the comment, but Mitsuru -in a childish manner- clenched her fists and bounced in place. She shook her head.

“There's nothing like that!” she bellowed.

The woman laughed and shooed her out of her restaurant.

Mitsuru stomped after Itachi who had continued on his way despite the exchange between the two women.

A great quiet passed over them and followed them even as they settled into their room. It wasn't until they had bathed and were seated that the lack of conversation became uncomfortably apparent to the both of them.

“Now, will you describe it to me?”

She tucked her legs beneath her.

“How much do you want to know?”

“As much as you can remember.”

Mitsuru’s finger picked at the edge of the bandages around her thigh.

“I… while sealed. I took the time to remember everything. Every detail. I just don't think you’d want to hear it.”

“I do.”

“It’s not… then I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and clenched her fists. He waited patiently for her to begin.

**The Nightmare**

When she opened her eyes she thought she must have been dreaming. The world couldn’t be grey. It didn’t make sense. The sky was endless above her: dark, looming, unmoving. It took too long for her to sit up. When she had shut her eyes she had last heard Hanako whispering behind her, telling her to sleep. Now she was awake in a world where the air was thin and the sky was empty of clouds.

Dirt was beneath her small brown hands. She squeezed it, taking a tiny pile into her hand, and staring at it with wide eyes. It trickled between her fingertips like thick bits of ash.

_Where the hell am I?_

Rising she saw herself surrounded by homes. But they were old, rotted, collapsing upon themselves. They had to be empty. There was no life here as far as she could tell. The agile young child was on her feet and walking forward.

_There must be something or someone?_

Her soft footsteps disturbed the all-encompassing silence. Each crunch of gravel beneath her dark sandals was sharp and alarming to her ears. But it was soon no longer her concern. Just a few homes down someone had appeared, stumbling out onto the pathway.

Mitsuru headed towards them quickly.

“Excuse me!” she called as she neared.

It took too long for her to notice.

It’s sickly thin limbs were shaking just a tad. Large hands were clenching it’s abnormally large head.

She skidded to a halt just as it turned. Its empty sockets seemed to be shooting daggers. A horrid gurgle came from the place where it’s jaw should have been. A thick ink-like substance was pouring down its neck. It launched itself at Mitsuru and she reeled back in disgust and horror.

Her legs kicked frantically at it as it landed against the ground. It’s hands flailed, trying to get a grip on her tiny ankles.

Hands were on her shoulders and her head tilted back. Above her was another. Exactly the same rearing its mutilated face now inches from hers. The black came spurting from its undulating throat.

And her skin felt hot. Excruciatingly hot. Boiling. She screamed. Her skin peeled away. She was blind.   
Her hands desperately tried to wipe it only to spread the awful singe. There was more. Her hair was gone.

It went down her throat. Her vocal chords caved. Her body went limp.

_This is how I die._

**X**

And her eyes opened. Once again she was sitting up. Once again the thin air filled her lungs. She gasped. Her frail fingers pressed into the unharmed skin of her face, feeling around for any sort of damage. She breathed out.

_Just a dream._

On her feet she looked around.

_It looks the same though._

Forward. It appeared from between the homes.

_Not a dream._

She darted away from the second one. Her thin but trained legs attempted to leap atop the roof of a nearby home, but she only managed a short jump. She faltered, nearly hitting the ground, but used her palm to push herself back into a smooth sprint.

_No chakra? Okay. I just have to get myself away from those things. Somewhere safe. I can hide…_

She whipped open the sliding door of the closest home, expecting to use it as a route to the next where she could find a decent place to conceal herself. But she met something white. The first kind of color she had encountered. Suddenly she was wet.

Her skin and clothes were soaked. She trotted back in shock, glancing over herself and the slime coating her body. When she finally looked at the doorway her breath caught in her throat. An enormous pupil gazed back at her, blocking her path completely.

It blinked.

Her mouth opened to scream.

Something that she would become accustomed to doing.

It disappeared, replaced by a wall of black.

A hand of incomprehensible size rushed out. She was in its grasp, being lifted. Bones were crushed. Blood squirted. Immeasurable pain enveloped her.

_This is how I die._

**X**

And her eyes opened...


	20. I Don't Want This For You

On his feet, backward, whirling just a bit, but ever so cool. He faced the creature in the room. The air was warm, but only slightly. He detected its gentle caresses along the hairs of his exposed arms, but they felt much weaker than they had before. What would have lulled him into a haze remained but an irritation.

His hunch, that her power had lessened, was greater supported by the thin, bony state of the body standing a few feet away. A narrow elbow was propped on the nightstand by the bed he had just been sleeping on. A thin form seemed ready to collapse, any movement would urge a feeble tremble. 

Despite her pathetic appearance she grinned in excitement. The sallow skin slightly drooping down from her bones. 

Needless to say, Kakashi was not enticed by this skeleton in a negligee. 

“The rougher the better, right?”

He was prepared for this, but it did not mean he was to relax his muscles. These creatures were unpredictable. These creatures may be hiding more strange, fantastic abilities. 

“She  _ begged _ you to stop but you  _ kept _ going.”

She tapped a set of long black nails against the side of the nightstand. 

_ If she knows the details of the dream, then there’s a chance she caused it. Both her and her sister must be able to infiltrate human psyches. _

“What do you want?”

He didn’t need to make his move just yet. He would try to negotiate some information from her before then.

“To spend one more night with you.”

“I take it you’ve found the other half then?”

The right edge of her grin rose higher. 

“Perhaps.” her narrow hip shifted. “She’s still too far away though.”

“She?”

“The rest of her.”

“Who is this her?”

“Don’t be dumb.” the woman rolled her eyes. “Who could I possibly be talking about?”

“Mitsuru. You’ve been looking for Mitsuru.”

He had considered the concept quite a while ago. That the creature was some sort of incomplete version of Mitsuru. That maybe Mitsuru was somewhere out there, hiding, trying to regain her strength but not sure how, aware that she is being blamed for multiple murders but unsure of how to clear her name.

“Brains and brawn.” she licked her lips.

“And you’ve found her?”

“I don’t need to repeat myself.”

“Where is she?”

A cool laugh left her parted lips. 

“Too far for you to reach her, but she’s well protected. Don’t you worry.”

“Protected? By who?” 

“A tall, handsome man.” she giggled girlishly while putting a hand to her mouth. “With dark, lustful eyes.”

_ She’s talking in riddles again. _

“They glow red to show visions, but he won’t need to use it on her. She’s putty in his hands.” her laughter increased in volume. “She’s like a horny little schoolgirl… I’m surprised four didn’t pop out…”

The woman straightened finally and took a step towards him.

“My sister wants to know where your student is.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with her.”

“She’ll be hungry when she gets back. I want to reward her for her hard work.”

Kakashi’s fingers clenched. He was relieved that Sakura was in no immediate danger, but he noted that he would have to deal with the other eventually.

“Come here.” she curled her finger in a beckoning motion. 

But he felt no pull. He was in control of his body.  _ What happened that weakened her this much? _

He readied himself to make his move. But the woman’s face changed, from eager to a cold expression that was rather frightening. The air in the room quivered and reverberated with a scream. The sound was somehow came from around him, but was also in his head. 

_ SHE FOUND ME. _

It repeated again and again. He recognized the voice of the younger sister filling the room.

“We’ve run out of playtime.” the woman’s eyes turned black.

A roar ripped from deep within her, her jagged teeth barred in a horrendous snarl. A monster launch itself across the room, snapping its jaws at him.

But he was ready. In a flash he had made the proper hand signs and rammed his palm into the chest of the beast in midair. Markings sprang outwards across its grey skin and it screeched in pain. It landed against the wooden floor, clutching at its chest.

Kakashi’s attention was drawn to its wide, fearful, suddenly almost human-like eyes. The tiny black pupils looked down at the markings then up at him over and over. In the next moment it scrambled to its feet and threw itself backwards. 

Glass shattered. The door behind him slammed open revealing a partially dressed and very disgruntled Might Gai. 

“Kakashi! What is going on here?”

“We can’t let her get away!” he shouted quickly.

**An Inn A Ways Away**

Neither was sure how they had come so close to one another. Their clothing brushed with every small movement. Neither was sure when their fingers had intertwined. Perhaps he had done it out of comfort, for she was reliving quite a horrid experience. Perhaps she had done it to calm herself and he simply indulged the gesture indifferently. That would have been the case had his thumb not been gently caressing skin just as he had done before with the scroll. 

Mitsuru watched the black painted nail as it glided over her hand, back and forth. 

Why was she okay with this? Or was this what she always wanted from him?

“Should I keep going?” 

She had asked it a short while ago, but received no answer. Her voice had broken part way through, when she described the feeling of having hot iron pressed into her skin, then again when she detailed each segment of her fingers slowly separated from her hands. 

Sure she could recall these horrors with disdain and a glare that read she would have her revenge. But Itachi’s sympathetic gaze had broken her. Her tears finally fell. 

She felt vulnerable. She had felt immeasurable pain and survived, but until this point had no shoulder to lean on.

“If you wish to.” He said finally when her tears slowed. 

Her smaller fingers squeezed his. 

Though she had breathed deeply to soothe her nerves, the sudden cupping of her face elicited a tiny gasp. She remained in awe at the slight curve of the most miniscule of smiles gracing his thin lips. He brushed her tears away with a single finger: carefully, slowly. 

“After everything.” With her free hand she took his wrist. “I don’t see how you can smile.”

“That’s strange coming from you.”

“So what about you?” she continued.

“What about me?”

“What do you plan to do? With the Akatsuki? With Sasuke? Are you going to go back to Konoha?”

His entire demeanor shifted and he relinquished contact.

“Don’t meddle into things that do not concern you.”

“You’re not going back to Konoha? What are you going to do when he faces you? Kill him?”

He turned away, his cool stare forming into a glare directed at somewhere else.

“You would never do that…” she continued allowed. 

The realization came over her and she bellowed:

“You plan to die.”

“Enough.”

“Itachi…”

He stood but she followed, blocking his path to the exit.

“That can’t be the only the option. Why can’t you tell him? There’s got to be some way I can help you.” she reached out to grab his robe.   
He gripped her upper arm and held it away from him. She winced not from pain but in shock from the sudden contact.   
“I don’t recall requesting your assistance.”   
“Itachi if you just-”   
“I will say this only one more time.” He clenched harder and leaned closer. “Do not meddle into things that don’t concern you.’   
His icy stare locked onto her narrowed brown eyes. The tension between them had reached a peak. He was not interested in listening to her produce plans to ‘save’ him, to ‘help’ him, his path was set before his eyes and he would follow it. There were no arguments, no new directions to be sought out. Her incessant, hopeful prattle was nothing more than an irritation to the reality he existed in. Yet somehow he could feel the endearance, the concern that radiated off her person.   
She knew it. She had seen it. There was no going back from what he’d done. There was no way to change the worlds mind about Uchiha Itachi. There was no way to convince everyone that he was not a monster. But she had seen real monsters. The ones that hide under your bed and in your closet. The ones that climbed down from the ceiling or snatched you in your sleep. She knew he was not a monster. He was only a Konoha Shinobi through and through. So she still egged him on. She still urged him to rethink things. For all she could think was:  _ I don’t want this for you. _ _   
_ He could see it.  _ I don’t want this for you. _ The selfish statement set atop a mountain of concern and affection. He had made the mistake of tending to her. He had made the mistake of showing her kindness. He phrased them as such to stave the reemerging feeling in his body. But this time his refusals were meaningless. Emotions he had swallowed down were erupting in his chest. 

It was the same for her. There was a fluttering in her center, her first experience of butterflies as they continued to study each other's irises. His grip weakened around her upper arm, only to tighten again, not with anger, but with an unwavering desire to touch. They seemed to move closer. Naturally, unconsciously, they were tearing down the space that separated them. But it was taking too long. For both of them.

They were upon each other in a flash, mouths meeting forcefully. Both of her palms were on his cheeks. He drew her body towards him, turning his head, tucking her small form tightly against his. They detached and latched back onto one another over and over, a desperation in their movements. All that had built up and denied was tumbling down around them from the incredible warmth of sensitive skin against sensitive skin. But it would not last long.

She leaned back, her nose grazing his. Their shallow pants breezed across their slightly swollen and heated lips. Her gaze slowly returned to his and in the next moment she was pulling away.

Everything in his body screamed in protest. He wanted this. He wanted her. He wouldn’t allow his mind to deny and reason this away. He wanted to admit it and draw her back. Feel her skin again, her warmth, her being. 

But that was not who he was. He did not fight as she stepped back, revealing a flushed face and averted eyes. He did not protest as she spun on her heel, quickly moving far out of his reach. 

She looked back at him a final time. The longing in her gaze created an ache within him that traveled far beyond the bodily plane.

She was it. It was her.

It would always be her.


	21. Within One Hour

Her feet kept her walking until just before she reached the edge of the wooden floor. In front of a railing she halted and awkwardly reeled her upper body then froze like a statue with her fingertips pressed lightly to the skin of her lips, still warm, still throbbing just a bit. She had never felt anything such as that before. So warm. So soft. Yet somehow also frantic and rough. 

It was not the one sided desperation that had forced her on top of him so many weeks ago. It was a mutual movement. An agreement between bodies.

Is this what romantic things are supposed to feel like? Like two worlds collapsing into one another demonstrated in just a few touches. Mitsuru let her hand fall and wrapped her arms around herself.  _ It was chilly, much colder out here than with… _

She shook her head.

_ This isn't okay. We can't do this. Just take a deep breath and go back. Tell him to never do that again. _

She repeated it a few times to assure herself.

X

Her returning footsteps caused a horrible throbbing in his chest. A cough urged its way out of his throat which reminded him to reach into his sleeve.

He should turn and search for the cups of water, but he knew if he turned he would see her face again. Instead he opened the prescription bottle, tossed two white pills into his palm, and threw his head back. It was uncomfortable, but he found swallowing pills dry far easier than seeing those brown eyes again.

“Are you sick?”

Once again the tension was destroyed by her bluntness and inability to recognize social cues. He turned only slightly. He couldn’t look at her. Not yet.

“What was that? What did you just take?”

He could feel her presence nearing.

“Itachi?”

Hearing his name was too much.

“It's an autoimmune inhibitor.”

“...what does that mean?”

Her finally looked at her. Her curious expression was mixed with deep concern.

“I have an overactive immune system.”

_ In the simplest terms I could possibly explain it. _

“...and what does that mean?”

“My body produces too many white blood cells, to the point of causing me harm. Its an inflammatory disease.”

“In… infura- infuram…”

“In.”

“In.”

“Fla.”

“Fla.”

“Ma.”

“Ma.”

“Tory.”

“Tory.”

“Inflammatory.” they said it together slowly.

The puzzled look on her face and her awe at the length of the word caused a soft chuckle to leave his lips.

“Don't laugh at me.” she snapped and her cheeks colored.

**Konoha**

Gai had received intel on Kakashi’s situation quite a while ago and agreed to assist if the need ever arose. After all, if the monsters were powerful enough to not be affected by the Sharingan, then he would definitely need help capturing them. 

Kakashi explained that the fuuinjutsu he had learned came from the Land of Demons and was graciously taught to him by the teacher of a young priestess named Shion. 

He had only just gotten it to work the previous morning when the demon woman arrived in his room that night, but it seemed it would not be enough.

The creature they followed had become a shadowy mass, darting from roof to roof rapidly, at in-human speed. Even shinobi recognized how impossibly fast it was. But no matter the speed, Kakashi was able to keep his eye on the trail of chakra it left behind. Thin, almost invisible, and fading fast, but he would not give up.

She was weakened. This was their last opportunity before something truly horrific happened, he believed. 

As they traveled across the village he became increasingly alarmed by the direction they were headed, but he ignored it. This was a coincidence. The buildings they past were familiar, too familiar. He had gone down these paths for over two decades.

It was with a mix of confusion and anger that he came to a halt just a short while away. Gai called out to him, stopping beside him.

The mass disappeared in a downwards motion, leaving no trace. 

It did not matter though, he knew they had reached its destination. 

Gai glanced at his friend, recognizing the frustration in his expression, then said:

“Talk about a skeleton in the closet.”

Kakashi shut his eyes.

“Sorry, I know, not the time.” he paused. “How do you want to approach this?”

“They likely have created a cave of some sort. I’ll create a pathway for us to climb down.”

“Alright.”

Kakashi furrowed his brows once more at his family home, perched so candidly atop what would likely be a gruesome labyrinth. He did not want to do harm to his home, but he recognized that there was a chance it would occur. 

“Step back.”

He did not know exactly what they would find down there in the darkness. He hesitated in imagining what might be there. Whatever it was would surprise him, he was sure. There was no point in predicting. 

When the pathway appeared they cautiously proceeded downward. A putrid smell engulfed both of them, causing them to cover their mouths for just a moment. Even with a mask Kakashi had flinched from the scent.

You never adjust to the scent of death.

Both he and Gai pulled out flares that they lit. Kakashi rolled one across the strangely smooth floor in front of them. Just a few yards in the flare veered to the right, demonstrating a curve on the ground, then settled against a wall of dirt. Beyond where the flare had stopped was more darkness, only slightly illuminated by the red flickering light. 

Gai threw his further. It bounced once and was slapped away by a large pale claw. They both had caught a flash of a black eyed face. It’s sharp teeth bared. 

“Come out.” the grey haired man wanted this to end quickly. 

There was some rapid shifting and footsteps traveling away from them. Unafraid they continued their pursuit of it until they entered a space that suddenly felt larger. Both men stopped.

Suddenly there was light. Candles circled the perimeter of the space and chased away the darkness enough that the men could see the gore lining the walls. 

To the right was a pile of torn and blood caked clothing. 

Skeletons and pieces of rotting flesh were scattered about. But there was an inhuman creature tearing into the stomach of a headless body towards the back of the room. It sunk its teeth into intestines, glaring up at them both. It’s limbs were thin, long, and twisted into the shape of spiders legs. It took another bite of what was in its hands, only to spit in disgust. It crawled backwards a few feet.

It was then both men noticed an unharmed body beneath the spider woman. Even from his distance, Kakashi knew who it was.

They both tensed, ready to fight the monster, but it backed away further until it was partially up the dirt wall.

“That woman there… that’s.” Gai mustered.

“It’s Mitsuru.”

**Elsewhere**

What could have brought them to this? Humans were strange creatures. So fickle. So quick to fight only to return to one another out of a sheer desire for touch. 

“You can’t do that ever again.”

“Was I the only one who did it?”

Her lips parted to answer, but she was at a loss for words.

“You know as well as I that wasn’t just me.”

“Still.”

Her stubbornness both frustrated and attracted him.

“We will set out in the morning. We’ve wasted too much time tonight, we must sleep.”

“I don’t need to sleep.”

Were their situation different, than phrase would have excited him. If she didn’t need to sleep they could engage in other activities, but she said “never again.” He wasn’t a man who forced himself on others.

The pauses were torture. Gazing into one another's eyes again was unbearable. They looked away.

“What do you plan to do then?” he asked finally. 

“I don’t know, just not sleep.”

Would suggesting it make it a possibility? 

His lips parted to continue, but he too was at a loss. 

“What?” she questioned. 

He looked at her again.

“You were going to say something.” she pursued.

“I wasn’t.”

“Yes you were.”

His brows knit.

“Just tell me.”

“It would require we do that again.”

“Oh.”

He saw her fingertips rush to her lips, bashfully looking away again, contemplating it. 

Did he only need to suggest it? Was that really all it took? They had less than six hours before they had to meet with Kisame. Sure, that was plenty of time.

“We should get all of our frustrations out now, if we are going to be able to cooperate.” he stated.

Yes, this was a way of making it a possibility.

“By k-k-” she didn’t finish. 

That word was too much for her. If that word was too much for her how could she go any further.

“That, as well as…” 

This word was too much for him.

“...as what?”

_ Curse her naivety.  _

“Will you?”

Her wide eyes drew him in the way his hand drew her towards him again. He knew it would happen. Once their skin touched again he knew he would receive his wish. 

“Just tell me.” she repeated.

Palms against his robe. He stole one. No resistance. He stole a second. Her eyes were glazed. He stole a third, this time longer, lingering. 

“I’ll just show you.”

**In the Dark**

Of course Kakashi had to advance. She was so close. He had lost her once. He had lost her twice. He would not lose her again.

“Kakashi wait!” Gai bellowed.

The creature on the wall spoke in a distorted voice.

“Don’t move her.” it snarled.

The woman with Mitsuru’s face dropped to the dirt floor. Her limbs returned to human-like positions. Her distorted face, still covered in blood, now a near-normal shape. 

Kakashi nearly tripped over bones getting to the unharmed body.

“I said don’t move her! Move her and she’ll die!” the creature screeched.

His hands paused. He couldn’t take his eyes away. Indeed what lay before him was the spitting image of the woman he had last seen laying in a hospital bed. His chest tightened. The body’s torso was unmoving. The lips blue. 

This was a corpse.

He had hoped it weren’t true, pain enveloped his features. He had hoped he could save her. 

“Kakashi, wait.” Gai was beside him, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If what she says is true we should listen. Even if not, we don’t want to risk it.”

“She’s clearly dead.” he said it coldly. 

“You shinobi sure as stupid.” the woman remained away. “She’s not dead. She’s split. If you move her though, she will die.”

“What do you mean split?” Gai asked.

“Her physical body is here, being protected by that seal you’re standing on. The rest of her is far away. The connection between them is thin if you move her from the seal it will break it and she will die.”

“The rest of her?”

“Her chakra, her spirit, her existence whatever it is you stupid humans call it.” there was a desperation in the creature's voice. “Just don’t fucking move her!”

Kakashi, unconvinced reached out again.

“I’ll go with you!”

Both men looked directly at her.

“I’ll go with you, I’ll let you take me. Just don’t move her!”

Gai squeezed Kakashi’s shoulder. It was rare that emotions overwhelmed his friends logic, but he recognized it was possible for all humans to give in from the pain of love and loss. The sprouting grey hair bobbed with his short nod. He hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from the body just inches from his fingertips. 

“We’ll take her in. We’ll inform Tsunade-sama. We’ll get them to examine this seal and see if its true.” Kakashi continued, strength returning to him. 

It was the demon's way of avoiding his wrath, he told himself. She is lying. Lying to prolong her life, but it was no matter. Once he knew exactly what these women had done to her, he would make sure they suffered a fate far worse.


	22. Riddles and Grins

He should have been satisfied with just the touch of her skin. His hands were on her waist, slipped just beneath the robe. She was warm, soft. It was excruciating that he had been stopped from feeling her further.

“You really are a pervert.”

Mitsuru was looking up at him with those fiery brown eyes. A faint gloss coated them. She didn’t understand what she was feeling in her body. All she understood was the gentle caress of warm, rough hands against her. The tingling sensation kept her face flushed and her weight against his body. 

The onyx was glazed with hunger, but she didn’t notice the intention. She was occupied with rising up on her toes to reach his lips again. He remained just out of her reach, trying to decipher where this was headed. Were they going to kiss only? Would she allow him to continue if he tried? 

“You just want to see me naked. You’re a pervert.”

“I’ve already seen you naked.”

She pouted. Her toes couldn’t get her to where she wished to be. 

“That was different.”

“Tell me how it was different.”

She managed to reach his lips for just a moment. She settled back on her heels in dissatisfaction. 

“I took my own clothes off. You’re trying to take my clothes off.”

“Is that all that makes it different?” He was closer to her ear.

“...yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“...no.”

“This feels different. Doesn’t it?”

“...yes. I feel weird…”

He hid her frown with yet another tender press of his lips. When he lifted his head she launched herself back up, cupping his face. The sudden invasion of his tongue make her squeal. 

“What are you doing?” she asked when she leaned back from him.

“Did it feel strange?”

“Yes…”

“Did you not like it?”

“...no. I just wasn't expecting it…” her gaze fell away shyly. “Do people normally do that when k-”

She still could not utter the word. 

“It’s not uncommon.” his hands smoothed around her back, causing the already loosened sash to pull apart further. “There are all sorts of things humans do together, simply because it feels pleasant.”

Was this enough?

“...like what?”

Why was it so easy? Was he doing something wrong? He was obviously doing something right, something right to satisfy _ himself, _ but was this right for her? Was it fair to her?

“Sex.”

He had to be frank. He would never forgive himself for pushing her into something without her completely understanding what it was. 

“Isn’t that… the thing that parents do?”

His eyes widened. 

A child. This was truly a child. His hands slipped out from her robe, he increased the distance. No. He couldn’t do this.

“Yes. Its something two adults can do to create children, but it can also be done recreationally…” 

She wanted his hands back. She wanted his warmth back. When she stepped closer he stepped away.

“So you can do it without having a baby?”

“Yes. With proper protection.”

He realized he had none. Curse hormones for blinding him to that one crucial fact.

“What…” her hand reached out to touch his robe again. “What is it exactly?”

“Another time.”

“Huh?”

Her expression changed from curiosity to frustration. A child had been denied something new and exciting, but he couldn’t do this to her. He was a better man than that.

“You were all ready to show me, but now no? Why not?”

Her fingers curled in his clothing. 

“I do not have…”

That dangerous little pout appeared on those pale lips. 

“Don’t have what? Why can’t we have sex?”

There was a sudden heaviness in his body. Yes he heard that correctly. How could he possibly deny her now? He didn’t have to go all the way of course. And if he did, he could simply… no that wasn’t full-proof. No he couldn’t do that. 

“Itachi, show me what sex it.”

He could. He certainly could do that.

**Far Away**

Gai didn’t like the look on the spider woman’s face. He didn’t like the disturbingly large smile on her lips or the fact that she was staring at Kakashi. He knew something had happened between the demon woman and his colleague that made his colleague avoid her gaze. Gai tightened his grip around her narrow body. They had placed seals on her hands and feet. It did not matter that she agreed to go with them, she wasn’t a trustworthy character. 

It didn’t take them too long to make it to the police force building. Inside they were met with a few late night workers. At the sight of Kakashi and Gai, they scrambled to inform their superiors. The serial cannibalistic murderer had been captured. 

They threw her in a cell and sealed it. Both men stood outside the bars, staring at her. A soft, giggle came from her. She was facing away from them on the ground, but soon she was rising into a seated position. 

Again, that strange smile was focused on his friend. A black tongue darted out to wet her lips and she spoke:

“Remember to visit me often handsome.”

“Oh we’ll visit often!” Gai declared.

He pointed a finger at her.

“You’re going to be here a long time.”

She did not acknowledge him, her dark pupils did not provide him with even a glance. She was focused on Kakashi. 

“Gai.”

He looked to his friend, recognizing the stress in his voice.

“Leave us.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “If you need me you know where to find me.”

Kakashi had locked eyes with the creature, he nodded shortly to the man touching him, but he had something else he wished to attend to. There was an opportunity here. The power dynamics between him and this demon had shifted. Maybe, just maybe he could solve this long, horrific riddle or derive some semblance of sense from the woman now that she could not harm him or anyone else.

Gai’s footsteps faded and the door at the top of the dungeons shut. Gai remained outside the door. He figured his comrade did not want to be interrupted, with whatever it was that he planned to do. 

That smile.

Yes, evil was a concept that everyone understood vaguely. Some would call things evil that others would call necessary. But he felt no one would argue with him. This woman. This thing. The human-like form seated with its legs crossed and its arms behind his back. This was evil in a physical form. 

“What’s the matter love?” her voice was exceedingly sweet. “Don’t like seeing me behind bars?”

“What is your name?”

That was a good place to begin what he knew would be a long, frustrating process.

“Name?”

“Yes. Your name.”

She whispered his question a few times all without breaking eye contact. The curl of her lips returned, but she stopped speaking. 

“It would be easier for you to cooperate. Otherwise the information will be forced out of you.”

The threat earned a laugh. 

“I can’t wait.”

“They have all kinds of ways of inflicting pain. If you wish to avoid that-”

“Please.” her happy expression became cold. “Spare me the  _ horrible _ details.”

Kakashi stepped closer to the bars separating them.

“We can provide you with a more lenient sentence.”

This was untrue. If they could gather enough evidence that she was murderer then she would be executed, but he would lie if it meant he could learn more about Mitsuru’s whereabouts.

“Or what? You’ll have me killed?” she rolled her eyes. “Humans can’t kill me.”

“That doesn’t mean you cannot be sealed.”

“Your seals are pathetic. My sister will always find me.”

“You underestimate us.”

“You overestimate yourself.” she glared at him. “There are only a few that can kill me, but they haven’t found me yet.”

“Who can kill you?”

The monster in a human form turned away from him. She laid on her side and curled up.

“One of them found my sister. Which means the rest are close.” she was speaking to herself, not to him, but he could hear her clearly. “She is complete. She can get away. She can survive. If they find me, I won’t be able to get away.” 

Another strange giggle emerged from her:

“But they can’t kill me yet. Not until she’s back together. If they kill me before she’s back together…” she sat up and grinned at him again. “If they kill me then they’ll kill her. And they can’t kill her.”

She quickly crawled on her knees to the bars.

“And if they kill her then she’ll never exist.”

Kakashi was irritated. More nonsense. More of nothing that could aid him in finding Mitsuru. He slammed a sandaled foot against the base of the jail cell.

“Where is Mitsuru?”

Suddenly she was laughing. She shimmied her hips in midair. 

“Ne, Kakashi, let’s make this a foursome.”

He had had enough for now. He turned and headed towards the steps.

“C’mon Kakashi!” she was yelling now. “Fuck me while he’s fucking her!”

She only wanted to get a rise out of him. She only wanted to hurt him, that would mean she was in control still. But she wasn’t. He would not allow her mind games to continue. Kakashi stopped before he reached the steps and took in a deep, slow breath. This creature could do as she pleased to upset him, he would not bend anymore. 

Calmly he stood in front of her.

“She likes it a lot. She’s begging him not to stop.” she let out a moan and her head felt back. “Oh he can move.”

He watched her writhing body atop the stone floor. 

“He might be better than you.”

His cool-headedness returned. 

“If there are those that can kill you. All I have to do is find one of them and bring them here.”

She froze, her brows furrowing.

“No matter what you say, we will find a way to stop you from ever harming anyone ever again.”

Those jagged teeth reappeared in her mouth. 

“Good luck finding them.”

“Kakashi-san.” 

He turned to the voice. 

“The interrogators are here.”

When he looked back at her she had shuffled towards the back of the cell. Her dark eyes were barely visible from behind the shadows. Had he been a weaker man he would have been terrified of that look, but he had made enough mistakes until this point. 

**Early the Next Morning**

Kisame paused in the exact spot where he had expected to see his partner. This is where they agreed to meet, just off the paths leading into the tiny village. He wasn’t the type to feel concern, but he did wonder why his partner was late. It was unlike him to be late without some information behind why he would be. He leaned against a nearby tree with a sigh. Should he seek him out or simply wait for him to finally arrive? It wouldn’t be too long and if it did take a longer time than he expected, then he could search for him. 

He would’ve considered that his partner had been killed, were his partner anyone but Uchiha Itachi. So instead he waited. Time passed slowly and he grew impatient. 

What could have possibly happened to stall him for so long?


	23. Interrogation Beginning

Had it occurred somewhere less remote, the surrounding people would have cried out at the sudden flash of lightning. Gods are here! They would have screamed. Some horrible disaster is coming! They would have bellowed to one another and took cover in their small wooden homes. But they picked this spot for a reason. When the clouds curled into a deep grey and the sparks started, only animals rushed off. The light rushed downward and singed the earth, leaving a pristine black circle atop the yellowing grass.

A tiny fire ignited and a square heel stamped it out. The shorter of the pair was staring at her wrist, at something that no one else could see. The taller was silent, allowing her eyes to adjust to the difference in light and the heaviness of the atmosphere. They were silent until the shorter elbowed the taller only to be met with a quick slap to the arm. Of course the shorter retaliated with another slap, but it only prolonged the nonsensical interaction these two foreign beings engaged in.

No, these were not Gods.  What kind of God’s would be found in the woods slap-fighting?

**Morning**

Sticky. Mitsuru felt sticky. But she did not mind it so much as the feel of the knee digging into the back of her thigh. She grumbled and pinched him. His arm squeezed her tight around her middle and she pinched the same patch of slightly red skin again.

Warm. She was very warm and she appreciated it enough to shift her body out of discomfort without moving too far away from the source.

But because she was unable to completely escape the grinding limb she grumpily gathered the entirety of the blanket over her person. Of course he had noticed her frustrated movements and vies for his attention, but he wanted to see how far it would escalate. If she simply said something he would adjust, but that would be too easy. They couldn’t have a conversation like two normal people.

He let his knee dip between her thighs and she squeaked. There came a hard slap to his chest and she rolled away from him taking the blanket with her. His fingers caught the edge of it just before she was out of his reach, bringing the wrapped person to a stop only a couple of feet away. She let out a childlike whine as he rolled her back towards him.

Their morning continued like this for quite some time. He always drew her back gently and she always allowed her body to rejoin the warmth of his. There were a few whispers, a short-lived thrusting of hips, and a period of slow kisses.

All other matters were forgotten. They wanted to bask in this glow for as long as possible. It was during one of the quietest moments that Itachi’s eyes suddenly became wide. He sat up abruptly, causing Mitsuru to tumble to the tatami.

“Huh? What?”

“What time is it?”

“Um…” she wrapped an arm around around her exposed breasts and looked around. “I don’t know.”

The sun was almost at its peak. In a flash he was dressing. He threw her clothing towards her while gathering his things. She had never seen him like this before. His movements were almost frantic.

“We’re late. Hurry.” he said shortly.

She was peeved. She dressed slowly, earning a glare from the Uchiha. Upon meeting his eyes she glared right back. It wasn’t her fault they had lingered in bed for so long. His patience ran thin and he grasped the edge of her shorts and forced them up her body in one quick, harsh motion. Their glares met again, but the proximity dashed all hopes of leaving soon.

By the end of this heated moment, his tone and gaze had softened. A hand was cupping the side of her face and their lips moved to just an inch apart.

“Please. We have to go.”

“Okay.”

He took only one more press, then refocused on gathering the last of their things. It took quite some time, but they finally left the small inn and rushed towards the rendezvous point.

Outside they had a brief moment of silent readjustment before leaping into the trees. The world they had created was no more. A cool reality passed over the both of them.

**X**

He expected to slow down as they traveled, because he recalled her body as weak. Often times she would fall far enough behind that the men would have to pause to allow her to catch up. This time though, she was only a few paces behind. When he turned to check, she was still there. Not struggling. Not panting. A human with confident muscle control followed him.

It was he who slowed. There was an impulse within him that he wished to act upon, but he was able to dispose of it with a quick reminder of his mission.

Though he did continue to reduce his pace. It was normal for ninja when rejoining their partners to slow. A speeding presence could be misinterpreted as an enemy.

**X**

“Oh no.”

The words left Kisame’s lips before he had fully processed the image of the person walking beside his partner. He didn’t need to have anything explained to him. He knew exactly what had happened. His partner had indulged in a bit of stress relief, but allowed that indulgence to overshadow all of his other duties.

Kisame resisted rolling his eyes. When they were within a few yards he turned without a word. Itachi would have tried to speak to him, but a strange, new feeling prevented him from opening his mouth. Was it frustration? No. Frustration simmers lowly until it becomes full-blown anger. Humiliation? No, humiliation is not something that the Uchiha feel. Neither is shame, but.

“Where are you both heading this time?”

Her voice caused a cold feeling to rush down his spine.

Shame. It _was_ shame. Regret. Why had he done such a thing? Why had he given into his desires? Why did he shirk his duties simply to fulfill a need for skin to skin contact?

He did not answer her question. A balloon of anxiety filled the Uchiha’s chest. He could never do that again.

**Konoha**

No matter how much blood was spilled or gaunt skin was torn. No matter how many nails were ripped and bones were shattered there was this tiny upwards curl of the right side of her lips. She did not wince in pain or moan or groan. The creature did not react to a single torture acted upon her, all to the disbelief of Ebisu. Though he did not show it on his face he was effectively perplexed.

Outside the torture room, he met with Kakashi who was patiently awaiting any news.

“She has not spoken a word. She does not react to anything I try. We will have to call in Inoichi.”

“Whatever it takes.”

“Have the Anbu told you anything about the seal?”

“Not yet.”

“Hopefully they will bring you better news.”

“I hope so as well.”

“Has she told you anything before that might help me find her weakness? Her pain threshold is… inhuman to say the least.”

“No. I'm not sure what weakens her. She hasn't given me anything at this point.”

“But she speaks to you?”

“Yes. Most of it is nonsense, but she does speak to me.”

Ebisu considered the information for a moment before looking back at the door that separated them from the woman.

“Nonsense?”

“She doesn’t speak clearly. She deliberately tries to confuse you when she speaks to you.”

“Is she speaking another language?”

“No, it’s just vague things that seemingly have nothing to do with anything.”

“Could she possibly be hinting at something?”

“Not that I am aware.”

“Perhaps we should start recording her conversations with you, so we can have a record. Maybe there’s something we can pick up on.”

“I am willing to try whatever you think is best.”

“I recall Inoichi won’t be back for some time, so we will have her transferred to another room where recording equipment will be set up.”

“Understood.”

**With the ‘Gods’**

“I don’t think anyone will understand me. I don’t have an accent. I can’t do that accent.”

“Work on it.”

There came a bit of a sigh and they continued:

“Where did she say she was going again?”

“To see her parents.”

“And you were going to meet up with her where?”

“In a mountain village outside of the Village Hidden in the Grass.”

“Ku- ku- kuso-”

“No.”

“Ku… sa?”

“Yes.”

“Kusagakure.”

“Yes.”

“Do you think she spoke to them?”

“Who?”

“Her parents.”

“I hope not. We told her she couldn’t.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t always listen.”

“That’s true.”

“And if she’s already found Koshoku, then this mess will be even bigger than we had hoped.”

“She sent us a signal that she did, but it was short. She likely already lost her.”

“At this point Oshoku should be detained.”

“Right, but we won’t know that unless you go check.”

“How many days until we are supposed to meet?”

“Two.”

“That’s more than enough.”

**Interrogation**

Her pale lids closed very slowly and opened again. It was such a strange creature. It looked so human, but the longer you stared the odder it looked. Unnaturally thin, with dark eyes and barely visible pupils. Limbs that were slightly too long. A bony monster capable of committing atrocities that even assassin’s might flinch at.

Such a demon sat directly across from Kakashi, in a metal chair with its arms tied behind its back. There were no scars left from the tortures it had faced.

“Are you going to service me?”

“Service you?”

“Get on your knees…” her legs spread slowly apart as the words left her narrow lips. “And service me.”

Kakashi had a very hard look on his face. Despite having only one eye visible, the abhorrent disgust was deeply apparent.

But he clenched his fist tightly and willed away his anger.

“Tell me more about what you are.”

It rolled its eyes and crossed one leg over the other.

“No fun, this one.”

“Is your only source of power eating people?”

“I don’t find women very tasty.”

“Why is that?”

It blinked again with the same slowness as it had when Kakashi first sat down.

“I like how men taste.” a tongue traveled along its lips. “I like how every inch of a man tastes.”

No that wasn’t a tingle. He wasn’t attracted to monsters.

“I know. I’ll get down on my knees for you.”

It inched forward, but the chains kept her from going very far.

“Just stand right here. I don’t even need my hands free.” that black tongue flashed out again. “Ne, Kakashi-san. Please.”

It’s voiced took on a familiarity he truly did not want to hear. His gaze fell to the single blacked out window on the wall. He considered playing along with the creature, not because it would provide him with any sort of pleasure, but because it might change the direction of this interaction. Perhaps it would please the creature and it would allow him to gain some shred of information.

Or perhaps it would leave him incredibly vulnerable and he would end this conversation with one less appendage.

Nonetheless he stood.

It squealed in delight, a horrid little smile appeared on its pastel face. When he neared it leaned forward, but he immediately grabbed it by its hair, tugging it backwards so it was looking up at him. Its lips were parted. There was a glaze in its eyes. It was excited. It was eager for this.

Kakashi would take on a personality that wasn’t his own, only if it meant that he could save the woman he loved.


	24. Interrogation Part 2: A Third

She walked alone for her partner - the tall, pale one with the dark eyes and an unnervingly harsh stare - was headed in the direction of a village. Her partner - the tall, pale one whose eyes sometimes turned red - had to check that Oshoku was still detained, just as they had been informed. If Oshoku still wasn’t detained, then they would be in a whole heap of trouble. Then her partner - the tall, pale one whose eyes sometimes looked so gentle and loving - would be one step further away from finding her precious one. But that was only if. She would be there within hours, because of her strange ability to travel long distances at immeasurable speeds, with or without using her new wings.

Unlike her partner, the slightly shorter one was clumsy. Of course she fell face-first into a bush while staring at her arm. It looked bare to everyone that would’ve seen it. It was merely a narrow, bony arm held mid-air with nothing but wisps of blonde hair.

But to her she saw the structure of the air and every potentially threatening substance within a six and a half mile radius. Yes, it only stretched that far. Even her partners eyes could see further than that, but it was integral to her abilities to be aware of the substances surrounding her. It was due to this and her intense focus on reading through the data rapidly rushing into oblivion that she hadn’t noticed the rock blocking her foot.

She cursed and struggled back into an upright position. With a bit of haughtiness she brushed away the debris. She hated traveling by foot, but she wasn’t allowed a broomstick in this world.

**With Him**

I didn’t know what to think anymore. Why would _he_ do all of that… why would _we_ do all of that, but now he won’t even look at me? I’ve tried talking to him three times now, but he won’t respond.

Itachi walked just ahead of me. Every time I tried to catch up to him, to be by his side, he seemed to increase his pace. It was infuriating. Why should he avoid me like that? What did I do to make him not want to be near me?

Kisame was ahead of him, walking faster than the both of us. I didn't care what he thought of me. He doesn’t mean anything to me. He’s not the one that I want to talk to. He’s not the one that made me feel so warm and soft and…

“There’s nothing to discuss. Enough.”

It sounded so harsh. I wanted to hit him. But I fell silent. I slowed. I would let myself far enough behind that he had to turn around, that he had to look at me. He doesn’t get to not look at me. I refuse to let him not look at me.

**With Them**

It whispered filthy things to him while a bit of drool rolled down it’s chin. It only made Kakashi grip its hair harder. They had been like this for only a few moments.

Outside the room were a few other nin, looking very uncomfortable. Despite no clothing having been removed, they could clearly hear the things that she said to their colleague. One wanted to interfere, tell Kakashi dealing with this was not necessary. He could wait until Inoichi returned and they would extract the information then, but Kakashi was stubborn. He couldn’t wait any longer. Somewhere deep within him he knew that every second past was a second closer to losing Mitsuru completely. He wouldn't accept that.

“I’ll give you what you want.” he began finally. “In exchange for information.”

It smiled to display its talon-like teeth:

“Word are empty handsome, I want proof.”

He released its head with a quick shove and walked away, towards the door to the room. He exited and shut it behind him.

“Kakashi-san,” immediately one of the ninja spoke, “there's no need for you to do this to yourself. Please.”

“All of you need to go.” Kakashi spoke firmly. “I will take care of this myself.”

The same man tried to argue again, but a hand on his shoulder silenced him. There was no point. Once he had come to a conclusion there was no way of fighting him.

“Would you like us to shut off the cameras and audio equipment?”

“No. She may leak something that I won’t notice right away.”

“Alright.”

With that the men left, not without each glancing back at the woman-like being that their colleague would now be alone with. They did not know what was about to transpire, but each found themselves praying for his safety and his sanity.

X

She escaped detection because her abilities were not reliant on chakra. Her quick movement was invisible to the people she passed, civilian and ninja alike. Her undetectable dashes were not due to a lineage of people containing the same powers, she was not born with them. She wasn't someone that was “born.” One could say she simply “came to be,” not born out of the body of another. One moment she wasn't there and the next she was. There was no other way to explain it to humans whose entire sense of “being" is reliant on an earthly process of birth. Even as she arrived at her destination within moments of entering the village only a single thing noticed her. Its expression changed from excitement to disdain. The human in the room didn't sense her. He did not notice this new presence, but he did recognize the change in the creature before him.

“What is it now?” Kakashi asked.

He kept a distance this time. He never intended to completely play along with the strange inhuman woman. He had devised a way to trick information out of her. Perhaps her shift in features was due to her realizing his plan. Or was it something else? It did not matter he would try to speak to her again before anything.

“Where is your younger sister?”

“Far away. Far away.” It murmured while staring past him at the third person in this small room.

She hung from the ceiling gazing back with an equal disdain.

“Why is she so far?” Kakashi continued. “Wouldn't she return as soon as possible to help you?”

“No.” it stated simply. “Because then they'd find us both, together.”

This was odd. It was speaking more clearly than usual.

“If they are split up they can't beat us, but if they are together they can. They can only hold her off.”

That sounded more familiar to the experienced nin.

“You are more powerful together? You and your younger sister?”

It suddenly smiled.

“The three of us together would have been the strongest.”

“...three?”

“But eldest sister didn't want to come with us. She looked down on us. Thought she was better, but now she's weak and starving and we’re strong. We're stronger than her.”

Its eyes followed the one as she dropped from the ceiling to the floor, just a few feet behind him.

“Isn't that right, _Onee-san_?”

It was then he felt it. It must have released its cloak, because a strange aura enveloped the room. It was neither a piercing cold nor a deceptively pleasant warmth. In fact it was like being gently lowered into a lukewarm bath. What he thought would be a sudden deep sense of danger was in fact oddly calming and soothing.

“Don’t panic.” a voice that was strangely silky and smooth actually proved to ease him further.

He turned.

This wasn't a demon like the ones he faced. This simply looked like a woman. No unnatural appendages, no gruesome features, not even a mouth of sharp teeth.

This was a beautiful woman really. Well, he would say so if she weren’t dressed in such a peculiar way. She was narrow shouldered, but tall. Her figure was graceful and well formed. Long dark hair flowed to her shoulders. On her person was a jacket of some sort, though it had many buttons and seemingly impractical aspects. Beneath was a kind of white shirt that was structured in a similar way. Fashionable, but impractical. Her pants were long, a pure black that stopped just over the most strange part of her ensemble. Closed-toe shoes that were a bit too long and came to a square point. They were nice looking and aesthetically pleasing, but were simply too unnatural.

“You're…” he wasn't sure what to say.

Despite the calm in the air he did not know who this was or what she was doing here dressed in such a way. Was she another threat that masked her dangerous aura with some fabricated sense of safety? If so, she was the cruelest of all.

“My current name is Azul.” she placed a pale hand against her chest. “You may refer to me as such.”

The name was odd. He had heard many names, unusual names, but the sound did not settle naturally in his eardrums.

“I'm sure you have many questions.” she continued. “I've been authorized to tell you and only you, if you'll allow me.”

Authorized? What is this? There was some authority, some weight with those words. Why though? Kakashi found himself extremely confused by this situation, but being the man he was he calmly nodded his head.

“Please. Whoever you are. Whatever you are. Tell me everything you can.”


	25. Interrogation Part 3: Kakashi Takes a Deep Breath

There was an overall lack of air in this space. What was there was so thick it sat in the back of your throat and stayed like a thick syrupy medicine that the taste of simply would not fade. One could even say it burned a bit. This air. But none of this mattered to the beings that resided in this place. They did not need to breathe. 

Neither did they need to take a physical form. Some remained as clouds of black, floating wherever they wished and communicating without a mouth to their brethren. All of them were of the same kind despite their severely different constructions. A dog pranced from one place to another shouting something that few of the other beings payed attention to. A crow quietly perched itself atop a cloud of black. Hanging from this cloud was a large spider and a snake. Other strange creatures lurked about, but a few took on the form of a human, walking with little regard for the arrogant sneers of the other beings. Each had their own way of “existing”. 

This was especially true for three of these beings. They could be regarded as sisters, simply because they came to be around the same time in the same place, but they only referred to one another as that because it amused them. Well, it amused the younger of the two. The eldest did not care for such things. But they were always close to one another. The youngest asking many questions, the middle acting very knowledgeable despite being only a few seconds older. The eldest ignoring them for the most part, only to occasional indulge their questions with what little they humbly claimed to know. 

It was here where they lingered. Doing nothing. Waiting. 

What were they waiting for? To be called to the realm of the living of course. They were simply demons. A human, of any world where humans evolved, could fulfill the criteria to request one of these creatures. Which was usually a sacrifice. The kind of sacrifice would call a particular demon of course. They would then create an agreement, a contract if you will, that when fulfilled the demon would receive the humans soul as payment. Simple enough. Common enough. Yes?

However, the younger beings were impatient. They whined and whined and whined. They were hungry. They were bored. This has happened many times before. The demons would become restless and ask why they couldn’t roam as they please. The older ones would always answer, because that is how its always been. They were warned not to try to pass without someone calling them, but these two younger ones did not listen.

It was nothing short of a miracle that they survived it. Severely weakened and physically damaged, they desperately tried to consume the nearest souls, but to no avail. No matter how hard they tried, neither with their faded powers nor with their barred teeth, they could not reach a humans true center. It was then they began to starve. Though not completely. Every time they swallowed human flesh they felt tiny spurts of energy. The most minimum of rejuvenations. But it would never be enough. Experiments had to be done. They had to continue moving, from one world to another, tasting different kinds of humans in search of a true fuel. 

It was an accident that the elder of the two took over a human’s body. It was then she realized she had come closer to their goal. They had come closer to completion. They had come closer to eating. 

With every passing victim they understood. The more powerful the human, the more potent the meal. It was then they found themselves in a world of shinobi. In a world of humans brimming with interesting powers. It was here they planned to become whole again. 

**Kakashi Takes a Deep Breath**

This long explanation was something he had not expected, yet it settled well with him. The idea that there were other worlds, other spaces with other humans, dimensions that were beyond his reach, did not phase him at all. He stared at the woman before him, who had explained this all very eloquently.  He was a man who accepted things as they were and reacted accordingly. 

“Do you have any questions for me? I will answer them as well as I can as long as they do not exceed the boundaries of what I am allowed to divulge.”

This was not an issue for him. He assumed anything beyond the creatures in the room and the people it involved was not necessary to reach his goals. He wished to speak about the one he was most concerned about, he wanted to know how to save her, and how to defeat these creatures.

“Then do you know where Mitsuru is?”

“Your w-” The woman paused and put a hand to her mouth.

She made a face as though she had almost left something slip that she should not have. 

“Um. Yes.” she paused again, but recognized the sudden eagerness in his expression. “In a sense. Yes I do know where she is. I know where all of her parts are.”

“Her parts?”

“Yes. As I am sure Oshoku has told you, Mitsuru is not whole.” she glanced at the creature sitting quietly in her wooden chair. 

“Oshoku?” 

“Oshoku is the name we have given her. We do not have names, but when we enter a contract we are given one by our contractee.”

Kakashi remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“O for otoko and shoku for shokuji.” (Otoko = male, shokuji = meal).

“I see. You’ve named them after their tastes then.” 

“Precisely.”

“Then the younger one is…”

“Koshoku.”

“Kodomo.” (Child)

“Yes.”

“Thank you. I believe we’ve been trying to figure out a name for quite a while and you have made this easy.”

The fury emanated from the creature, but Azul did not seem concerned. For that reason Kakashi remained his cool, collected self. It likely helped that this dark haired woman’s aura influenced in such a way.

“Then can you assist me in finding all of Mitsuru’s parts?”

“I cannot.”

There was a single wave of cold that passed over him, but he simply waited. This demon was logical, not necessarily friendly, but cooperative in a way that allowed him to approach without panic or desperation. 

“That is outside the parameters. I can only give you enough information that you can survive.”

Survive? That was a bit alarming, but he didn’t try to consider it too deeply. Not yet. His life was quite often about survival. In this moment he was being provided assistance. 

“Then, why are you here? Only to help me survive?”

“We are here because we were told to be.”

“We?”

“My partners and I. We came here, to this world, to this time in this world, because it is here where we need to interfere. Only enough that all of the players are not lost.” she glanced around him again. “We also came for a few semi-related reasons. Unfortunately I cannot be any clearer than that.”

“I see.”

“Fool.”

The whisper came from behind them.

“She’s tricking you. She’s the same as me. You are a fool.”

Kakashi had considered this. That this was another ruse by another demon all to push him further away from his goal.

“I can assure you I am not going to harm you in any way. In fact helping you ultimately is a means of helping myself. You see.” 

Finally there was movement. Oshoku flinched,  _ flinched _ . 

“Something has been taken from me. Something very, very important.”

Faster than he could react, the demon woman named Azul was standing in front of Oshoku. They were eye level due to Azul leaning in close.

“I would like to know where that something is.”

Kakashi thought it strange to see the creature that he had struggled so much to weaken and intimidate, now looking incredibly nervous. Though her lips were curled into one of her trademark smiles, she was hunched as far from Azul as she could physically go.

“With the other.” the suddenly meek creature mumbled.

“Is that so?” she straightened.

Despite the calm that he had felt until this point he recognized the menace that so naturally began to fill the room. Azul was angry. There was a feeling of blackness, dread, a hopelessness that would bring you to your knees, but he stayed still. He knew if he waited it would pass. This was not directed at him.

“Then I no longer need to be here.” 

“Wait.” Kakashi had to stop her.

Azul turned slowly. He saw redness filling her pupils. He thought for just a split second that she had the sharingan, but there were no tomoe in those eyes of her. 

“Are you one of the beings that can kill her? Can you-”

“I cannot.” she faced away. “Well, it is not that I cannot. I certainly can. I will not.”

He didn’t feel he could argue in this moment.

“I only wish to retrieve my stolen item.”

“She pretends.” Oshoku hissed.

The back of Azul’s hand struck the side of Oshoku’s face. 

“Calls her a thing, an item, but its all lies.”

Azul didn’t hit her again, instead she walked towards the wall.

“Lies. She lies.” Oshoku lifted her head slightly. “Foolish onee-san who fell in love with a human.”

Azul disappeared through the wall before Kakashi could fully process what had happened.

**Temper Tantrum**

Full stop. Mitsuru had come to a full stop and waited to be noticed by the man who had provided her so much attention only a few hours before. And of course he noticed this. Her extreme lengths were finally affecting him. He had to come to a stop and address this situation before it got out of hand. 

“Mitsuru.”

“Why are you being like this?”

She started so quickly that for a moment he was confused, but he recovered quickly. 

“Mitsuru, we cannot continue like this.”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Continue what? What is we?”

Again he recalled just how childish she could be and just how selfish she can act. 

He stepped closer to her and she backed away.

“So you did all of that for what? For fun? That’s it?”

Somehow she always went right to the point.

“Mitsuru.”

“Were you just using me?” her voice broke.

His cold demeanor shattered. He did not care if Kisame saw this. He could look all he wanted. In moments he had her in his arms, so tightly held it would have hurt if she were someone not accustomed to pain. 

“No.” it was a hurried whisper.

The time between his resolution to end their affair and this moment was so short it was ridiculous, but he found himself unable to fight these overwhelming bursts of emotion. These things he pushed down deep within him in order to face his path unwaveringly were once again exploding in his chest. 

He could not hold back when he heard the quiver in her voice.

“No.” he repeated, a bit more steady. “I was only…”

She huffed, but didn’t push him off.

“For a moment I regretted it.” he admitted, but continued. “But it was momentary. Please, when we are not alone I have to focus on completing my missions.”

They slowly looked at one another.

“Please.”

He didn’t need to elaborate. Though Mitsuru was prone to childish tendencies, she did understand what he was asking. She nodded, but demonstrated her dislike of the situation with a prominent frown. With another huff she shrugged him off and darted headed, not close enough to Kisame that he would acknowledge her presence, but far enough that Itachi had to walked briskly to catch up.

One would think that she had almost forgotten what her goals were now that she was able to move about freely again or that there were monsters searching for her avidly, what with all of the romance in the air.


	26. The Lovers

All at once, the heaviness and gloom in the air had disperse and he was again left with a single cold feeling of distaste for a particular creature. His interaction with the third demon had been odd and strangely convenient. Why was it now that she appeared? How is it possible that she would come right when he was alone in a sound-proof… wait. He remembered. There was a record of this conversation. He could review it and make sure there were no clues that he had missed while he was processing such a fantastic explanation of events. He thought all of this without paying much attention to his surroundings, but once his thoughts took a pause he recognized a voice.

The word liar peppered the silence, always short and quick. Almost as though she were spitting it. Her head was bent down at a rather sharp angle that looked extremely uncomfortable. When Kakashi looked at her, finally after a few long seconds, he saw saliva dripping into her lap. Her head snapped up suddenly and she roared with a distorted voice that he had not expected.

“SHE’S A FUCKING LIAR.”

He did not flinch at the sudden movement. Nor the sound. Her sharp teeth were visible from her outburst, her black eyes looked sunken. Oshoku’s head dropped again and she released a human-like sob. Her limbs were pulled closer as though she were attempting to curl up but the restraints kept her from doing so.

Kakashi could only watch, in quite a bit of fascination, as the monster seemed to be expressing… anguish?

It was alarming that the eldest sister named Azul could put this demon in so much distress, but Azul was not an enemy at the moment. If things changed he would react then, for now. He wanted to review the material he had just heard. 

“We are done for today.” he took a step closer to Oshoku. “I will be taking you back to your cell.”

He placed a firm hand on its narrow shoulder, but was taken aback by its shuddering reply:

“I never wanted to be this way.”

No, the demon couldn’t possibly be feeling some sort of regret. The demon was trying to trick him again. Things were simple. Not simple, but understandable at this point. Oshoku was here to take over a human body and become “whole” again so she could wreak whatever havoc she was naturally created to do. However, what she wished to do was cause pain to the ones that he cared about.

She was a demon. That’s it.

Oshoku repeated her statement.

“Enough,” he undid her shackles and gripped her arm. “Stand.”

“Just kill me.” she murmured.

He made another mistake:

“You said it’s impossible to kill you.”

Her head lifted. Her black eyes large.

“Just make her kill me already. I’ve had enough. It’s all her fault.”

Kakashi stopped making mistakes.

“Walk. You’re going back to your cell.”

Yes, he was a tiny bit surprised that she complied, but he would not question it.

**The Lovers**

On the other side of this mountain was a village. A tiny village with an even tinier population. Word had spread that it was haunted, that whoever went there was never to be seen again. The akatsuki had been requested to investigate. Yes, they took simple missions like this in addition to their assassinations and various other missions. All in the name of collecting money. No matter how small, if it paid, it was to be done. 

Kisame has somehow ended up behind the pair of lovers. He glared at their backs while adjusting samehada. 

I knew he wouldn't be able to keep her in the scroll. He's too damn young to have been trusted with it, his hormones must have been going crazy this whole time. You would think he had more willpower than that, but I suppose even the Uchiha can't think straight when the blood rushes down from their heads.

Though, his train came to short stop as he eyed the ill fitting clothing upon her form, she does look different. 

“What are you investigating exactly?”

She didn’t actually care, she was itching to get back to training. Her body felt stronger. Her muscles wanted to be strained. She needed to improve her abilities as much as possible before she faced the demons again.

“There is a small village that many people, mostly children, have been disappearing in. It appears deserted, but there are still a few elderly people living there, it is said.” Itachi spoke cooly.

He wanted to curl his fingers with hers. He wanted contact with her, but he had to show some level of restraint. He had already fallen so far from his usual character, he had to do what he could to return to his usual self, all without displeasing the woman he had shown so much affection to. 

“So, all you’re doing is checking to see if it’s true?”

“No, it is partially a search and rescue. We have been hired by the neighboring villages to retrieve any kidnapped victims alive or dead and burn the the place to ashes.”

“So… search and destroy.”

“More or less.”

She would have considered forming an opinion, but she still didn’t fully understand the function of the Akatsuki. Even with Itachi’s understanding of the organization easily repeatable in her brain, she didn’t quite ‘get’ what they were about. She only knew, Itachi was here to protect the village. She didn’t need to understand more. She would support him quietly. Images from the previous evening flashed across her consciousness and she reddened a bit. 

“Stupid.” she hissed.

Itachi glanced at her, but he had already grown accustomed to her sudden outbursts. She completed her own mental conversations out loud occasionally. 

It would only take a few more hours to reach their destination. Itachi, for the sake of the mission, provided her with additional details all pertaining to the descriptions of the victims. If she had this information she could be of some help. He had no intentions of having her do anything for the mission, because she was supposed to be locked in a scroll. He advised her to listen to his instructions if anything dramatic were to occur.

Of course her response was a silent glare. She would do as she pleased. She did not care if they tried to violently subdue her again. If she wanted to help she would. If she didn’t she wouldn’t. She was not their partner. 

_ I’m just luggage. _ She thought with a mental voice dripping with sarcasm. She scoffed allowed. Once again she was completing a conversation in her mind. Itachi felt a twinge of emotional exhaustion.

How could he have fallen for such a frustrating woman?

The walked continued in silence. With Mitsuru stewing and Kisame stewing, both over different things, and with Itachi wishing he could simply escape from them both without neglecting his duties any further. Thankfully, they were getting close.

They spotted a thin woman standing just near the first visible homes. As they heard, the homes were small, old, and falling apart. They seemed devoid of inhabitants. Which made the fact that there was someone standing just outside them, looking perfectly healthy and dressed in odd clothing, all the more strange. Her clothing was too colorful. Well, the cloth that was on her rather long legs was a literal rainbow pattern that was so tight against her skin it seemed it could have been painted on. She had on dark green shorts with too many pockets that were obviously not being used and a loose, long-sleeved white top. It was her shoes, most of all, that caught the trio off guard. It was not the open toed sandals that were standard across almost all of the nations. Instead her feet were completely hidden beneath semi-elaborate constructions of holes with thick strings weaved through intricately. It was completely impractical. There was virtually no support. 

She scratched her short-blonde, messy bob with a long-fingered hand. Her nails were obviously manicured and painted a green that matched her strikingly green eyes. She turned to them as they neared and smiled as though she were greeting a friend, but she said nothing.

Odd. She was odd.

Kisame spoke first. He asked her what she was doing here. She responded immediately, but not one of three them understood what had come out of her mouth. She was speaking another language. She had to be. This wasn’t anything they had heard before.

Her lids blinked once and she repeated in their native tongue:

“For the same reason as you.”

But it came out with a heavy accent they simply could not place. Where had she come from to speak in such a way?

For this reason there was a silence, but the woman continued: 

“Let’s just not get in each other’s way. Okay?”

“Who are you?”

Kisame repeated.

“Call me Em.” 

She was no longer paying attention to him or his questions. Those intense emerald eyes were far away.

Mitsuru wanted to speak to this person more, but was drawn away by Itachi.

“The sooner we start the sooner we can move on to the next mission.”

The one called Em was looking at them now. There was something in her eyes that Itachi had disliked. The moment she spoke to them he knew she was something troublesome. Not necessarily a physical threat, but an alarm had gone off in his head when the first sounds had left her lips. 

He was exceptional at reading people, whether they could effectively communicate or not. She was setting a pace for the conversation that would draw them in, force them to focus and forget their surroundings. She feigned a lack of communication skills. He gathered that much. She wanted to distract them. But from what? Was she the cause of rumors in this village or was she aiding it?

She was smiling at them still as Itachi dragged Mitsuru away. Kisame narrowed his eyes at the woman, but followed as well. 

_ Just what I’d expect _ . Em cackled softly to herself.  _ Like father like daughter. _

When the trio was out far enough away she said allowed:

“You can come out now.”

If she had appeared any earlier the lovers would have recognized her. Maybe not with much more than,  _ oh it is that young woman we saw at the restaurant yesterday _ , but really they never should have seen her at all. If they spoke it all would have been a disaster.

The short woman slipped off her hood and turned to Em who was beaming at her.

“What?”

“You look exactly like him.”

The woman turned slightly red.

“Shut up.”


End file.
